All That I Need
by Betty BOKOR
Summary: SamDaniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.
1. Chapter 1

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 1**

The news had been devastating for all the original members of SG-1 and also for many others at the mountain. Sam was already in Atlantis when the report of Jack's death had come and Daniel had obtained permission from Landry to tell her personally. He knew of the strong connection his two teammates had shared and he was certain that Sam would be deeply hurt to know that Jack was dead. He had tried to talk with Sam about her feelings for her commanding officer many times, but she had repeatedly denied them, hiding behind regulations that Daniel found unfair and futile.

Sam had taken the news stoically and had barely cried during the ceremony that took place in front of the Earth gate. After all, they had never found his body −and in the crazy world of the stargates and wormholes that was very good news− and, consequently, there would always be some hope that he was not inside his ship when it landed in a fiery crash against the surface of a remote planet. He was only supposed to be there as an envoy from Earth, a fairly well known face to add clout to the treaty. The details of _why_ he had accepted the offer to fly the prototype that took him to his death were still not clear.

After Sam was back in Atlantis, Daniel could not shake the feeling that he had abandoned her in a moment of suffering and, without too much thinking, he requested permission to temporarily leave SG-1 and be assigned to the Pegasus Galaxy. He had plenty of reasons to ask to go to Atlantis, most of them related to the quest that his team was embarked on, and he had already proved that many of the resources found in the original Lantian home could be useful to them. He had not included among his motives the fact that long ago he had discovered that his feelings for Sam had grown far beyond the constraints of their friendship. He still felt guilty for having agreed to go on an extraordinary mission with Cameron and Vala the day Sam had left for her new assignment. He knew Teal'c would be up to the challenge of giving Sam the appropriate farewell in the name of all her teammates and he also knew he would not be able to completely hide the pain that the separation would cause him.

Now, he was trying to convince himself that he was in Atlantis for the good of Sam and_ not only_ for his hopeless need to be close to her. He was clever enough not to fool himself about his motivations, but he knew there was more to it than selfishness. He really wanted to help Sam mourn Jack. He was in pain, too, because, in spite of all the differences Jack and Daniel had had, they had found a way to help, support, and love each other in a manner that had always been a mystery to Jack.

Sam had welcomed him warmly, but had hurriedly left him alone with the excuse of her many obligations. Daniel felt that she probably was not ready to talk about Jack and, to give her time, he had accepted her pretexts without complaint. He spent most of his first day in the city fixing up his new quarters and his office and starting a catalog of all the resources he would be able to access.

Late in the afternoon, he felt a strong desire to go in search of Sam. The few weeks of separation had almost been akin to torture for him and the knowledge that she was so close now was starting to get on his nerves. He decided to take a walk around the city, or at least around the areas that were in the vicinity of his office. After a few minutes he came upon a room where Ronon Dex seemed to be practicing some fighting ritual. He stopped and observed. The Satedan soon felt the presence of the intruder by the door. He stopped his practice and turned around. He was surprised to see the new scientist on base observing his practice. He looked inquisitively at Daniel and waited for an explanation.

Daniel did not delay his response.

"Hi. I'm Daniel Jackson. We met before, if you remember."

Ronon acknowledged it with a movement of his head.

"I was observing you practice. That fighting style somehow reminded me of something Teal'c taught me," he continued.

Ronon shook his head in question.

"I can show you, if you don't mind," Daniel added. "Then you can teach me yours," he said as he put the papers he had in his hands on the floor against one of the walls. Then he took his glasses off and put them on top of the pile. "I only brought a couple of these. Better take care of them," he smiled.

Ronon smiled and assented with his head. He was thinking of what could be driving a _geek_ −he was sure the term Sheppard had taught him applied here− to try to get into a fight with him. He also thought that it would not last long. He was not disappointed. Daniel had him on the floor before he could even begin his own attack.

"Sorry," the scientist said while regaining his breath. "Teal'c is a great teacher," he added with a smile.

"Who is this Teal'c?" Ronon asked.

"He's a member of SG-1, too. He's a Jaffa. When he started teaching me this, I was completely useless in this kind of fight. Not that I'm much better, now," he quickly explained. "I think I still mix what he taught me with what Cameron wanted me to do."

"Cameron?"

"Mitchell. He's the head of SG-1 now that Sam is here. He learned some fighting techniques from the Sodan that were very interesting. I saw some reminiscences of the Spartan method-"

"I don't know who the Sodan or the Spartans are," Ronon interrupted, "but what you just did here, that was interesting. Maybe you're right. I can teach you some of my moves and you teach me that."

"Why not?" Daniel said with a smile.

For a while they engaged in short demonstrations. Daniel also shared some of the techniques that Jack had taught him. He, Sam, and Teal'c had cleaned the floor more than once with the young archeologist, but that had been more than ten years ago. Everything had changed since then.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	2. Chapter 2

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 2**

Sam realized how late it was and felt guilty about not having checked on how Daniel was doing during his first day in Atlantis. He had already been there, but it was not the same now that he was going to stay for a longer period of time. She knew she had been subconsciously avoiding seeing him, because he would probably want to talk about Jack's death and she definitely did not. She had not made a public scene about it until then and she did not want to make one in front of Daniel. It was true that he was her best friend, but in the last years she had noticed some kind of distance growing between them. Some days she felt closer to Teal'c and she could not explain why. For a while she had blamed the omnipresent Vala for the cooling of her relationship with Daniel, but after having gotten to know her better, she had realized it was not her fault. There was something there, between Daniel and her, and she could not put a finger on what.

She walked faster towards Daniel's new office only to find it empty. She looked in a few more places she thought he could be, including his private quarters, but he was nowhere to be found. She finally decided to run by the cafeteria and grab a bite before figuring out a way to look for Daniel without making it look like she was worried about him.

Soon after she entered the spacious room, she heard his voice. He was sitting at a table talking animatedly with Teyla and Ronon. She remembered her first encounter with Ronon after she had taken command of Atlantis and also how Ronon usually treated the scientists around them, including McKay, and she felt perplexed. She did not know what Daniel was talking about, but both his companions were engrossed in the conversation.

She picked up a plate of food and sat down at a table close to the door to be able to observe the group and then leave unnoticed. A few seconds later, she was joined by Sheppard.

"Odd, isn't it?" He said as he looked at the same table she had been watching.

"Not really," she said defensively. "Daniel's gift has always been his ability to connect with people."

"Yes, but there are people… and people. Ronon is not the kind you can connect much with…" he rebutted.

"Looks like it's going pretty well, I'd say," she added with a smile as they heard Ronon laugh loudly.

A few minutes later Sam left the cafeteria and did not get to talk to Daniel for the rest of the day. The next morning, as she was procuring herself some breakfast, she found Teyla ahead of her in the cafeteria line.

"Colonel Carter, I was hoping to ask you something today," the young woman said as soon as she noticed her presence.

"Sure. What do you need?"

"Well, Dr. Jackson has expressed an interest in learning the language of the ancient Athosian prayers and I thought that it could be better accomplished if he could visit my people, especially the elders. I thought that now, when there are no immediate threats to Atlantis and I'm not scheduled for a mission, it would be the best time to make the visit."

Sam was surprised. She knew Daniel's curiosity very well, but she was shocked by the immediate trust Teyla was putting on him. Sam had yet to meet the Athosian elders and the fact that her friend had already been invited made her feel uncomfortable. For a second she searched for a way to deny permission for the visit, but then she realized she was being selfish and agreed.

While she was walking to a table with Teyla, Daniel entered the room talking excitedly with Radek Zelenka. She soon realized they were not speaking English. She guessed it was probably Czech.

"Hi, Sam, Teyla," Daniel greeted with a smile. "Do you mind if Radek and I join you? We'll grab a couple of plates and we'll be right back," he added as he walked toward the kitchen line without waiting for an answer. Zelenka smiled shyly and followed him.

While Daniel and his new friend were getting their breakfast, Sam sat with Teyla. She decided to satisfy her curiosity before they were back.

"So, you've been talking to Daniel?" she started without precisely knowing what to ask.

"Not exactly. We've been fighting," Teyla said as she smiled.

Sam raised her head and looked questioningly at her.

"It looks like your teammates and you have taught Daniel well. Ronon is impressed by his technique and we have asked him to join us for our daily training sessions. I have to say that I'm impressed, too. I had figured Dr. Jackson as a typical scholar."

"I wouldn't say typical defines him," Sam said lightheartedly. "He's one of a kind."

"I'm starting to realize that. He was speaking Radek's native language a moment ago, wasn't he?"

"Unfortunately I don't speak Czech, but I'm pretty certain that that's what it was. He speaks so many languages that I've lost count."

They stopped talking as the two men joined them.

"This is so exciting," Zelenka said. "Dr. Jackson is a fan of my favorite author. I must tell you," he smiled towards Daniel and added, "I have a very old copy of that book in my quarters. I never thought I would find anyone here who had heard about it, much less who was able to read it in its original language, but now I think you deserve it. I'm going to bring it to your office after lunch."

"It would be an honor to read it. I'll take good care of it and you'll have it back in perfect condition," Daniel said.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't accept that. It's my small gift to you. It's been a long time since I've been able to speak my language with another human being and_ that_ has no price."

"What book is it?" Teyla asked.

"It's called _Máj_," Zelenka, said, "as in _May,_ and its Karel Mácha's greatest poem."

"Mácha?"

"He's the most important romantic poet in the Czech language, probably the most influential poet in the whole Czech literature," Daniel answered.

"I can see you two have connected," Sam said, amused by their enthusiasm, "but I have to go back to work. By the way, Daniel, you have permission to go with Teyla." A few seconds later she was gone.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	3. Chapter 3

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 3**

"Have you seen Ronon?" Sheppard asked Sam as she entered the gateroom.

"Ronon? No, why?"

"Well you see, today it's our kind of Sunday-"

"I know. You already explained that to me."

"Well, yesterday I asked Ronon if he wanted to give golf another try-"

"And he accepted?"

"Not exactly. He didn't sound _too_ excited, but he doesn't like football much either. He said he didn't understand why we spent so much time _not playing_, as he put it. I've been trying to explain to him that that's part of the game, but Ronon-"

"Ronon?" McKay interrupted this time as he entered the room. "He's with Jackson. They're playing basketball."

"What? Jackson organized a basketball game?"

"Not really. It was Major Lorne. He was sitting in the cafeteria with his basketball by his side, −as every other Sunday− when Jackson came in with Ronon and Teyla and asked him if there was a team. Lorne said that he usually played with the ball on his own and Jackson said that he routinely played with Cameron Mitchell and Teal'c every afternoon. And that's it. Now they're all playing."

"All who?" asked Sheppard with contempt in his voice, as Sam looked amused.

"Well, there's Lorne, Jackson, Ronon, Teyla, Zelenka-"

"Zelenka?"

"Yes, that little traitor now is good friends with Jackson," McKay replied and Sam had to turn to avoid being seen smiling.

"Who else?"

"The other team has Coffman, McNab, Sherman, Hansen, and Bryce."

"How did they get McNab or Bryce to play basketball?" Sheppard asked with real bewilderment.

"That's funny," McKay said. "They all volunteered. It looks like, lately, to be _cool _around here, you have to be part of what Jackson is doing."

"I have to see this for myself," Sheppard explained and left the room.

Sam went to her office and sat silently for a while. She was surprised at the effect Daniel was having on the Atlantis' population. She had never noticed that on Earth. It was fair to concede that the SGC was a far more military structure, but it still baffled her. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Daniel was just being himself. He was not doing anything extraordinary. He had not changed his routine. He had just brought it to Atlantis.

It was true that he played basketball with Teal'c, Cameron, and Vala in the afternoons.

It was true that he had been trained to fight by all of them. They always joked about how Vala had beaten him up onboard the Prometheus, but the truth was that he had overpowered and captured her. Since the very beginning, right after Sha're had been captured, Daniel had allowed Jack, Sam, and Teal'c to teach him to fight. He wanted to be ready in case he needed those skills to save Sha're. Over the years he had become quite capable. He had the advantage that he was a tall and solid man and also that he was always willing to learn. Black ops, Jaffa, Sodan, Goa'uld, whatever they had to offer, he would take, and now he had Satedan and Athosian at his disposal. It was only logical.

It was also true that he kept a fairly rigid gym routine. Sam recalled once seeing him covered in sweat after a strenuous weight lifting session with Teal'c. She had smiled questioningly and he had simply said, "I'm getting old and our battles aren't getting easier." It was not a surprise that he had joined many of the soldiers stationed in Atlantis for their physical training and it was not a surprise either that those soldiers had started becoming his friends.

Finally, it was true, too, that he spoke many different languages and it was understandable that the non-English speaking scientists that were part of the international expedition to Atlantis would feel drawn to someone who could understand their native language and cared for their cultures as well.

As clearly as Sam had always been attracted to anything scientific, Daniel was attracted to anything social and that was a great advantage. She only wished she could do better herself; people in Atlantis were still not used to seeing her in Weir's place and she felt very isolated. She was more than a military officer −Sheppard was in charge of that− but she was sure that she was not seen that way, at least yet. Now that Daniel was here, she could share her fears with him, but there was still something that did not let her get as close to him as before. He had been in Atlantis for ten days and they had not had one personal conversation.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard McKay talking to Daniel in the gateroom. She decided to go see what Daniel was doing there.

"It just doesn't make sense," Rodney was saying with clear exasperation.

"Let me see…" Daniel approached McKay and looked at the same screen he was watching. "You're working on gravity's pull, right?"

McKay turned and looked at him surprised and then assented. "Yes."

Daniel looked at the paper where McKay had been scribbling something a moment before and then he said, "That symbol means _isomorphic_. That's the difference. I know that in English we have two meanings for the same symbol, but in Ancient this can only be _isomorphic_. For _approximately equal_ you would use this one." He leaned over the desk and drew a symbol on the paper.

McKay looked over the paper and smiled. "That's it!" He turned and looked at Daniel. "You can read Lantian?"

"It's basically old Ancient. It's the same thing."

"He's understood Ancient since the day he came back from Ascension," Sam said from behind them.

"So, you don't need to translate this? You understand what it means right away?" McKay asked without paying attention to Sam.

Daniel nodded his head.

"You know, when I was on the path for ascension… Maybe you've heard, I had this accident with this weird device and my body was rigged for ascension… Anyway, I wrote these notes and I've been having extreme difficulty trying to understand what they mean. Maybe you could give me a hand."

"Sure."

Before Sam could react, McKay had taken Daniel by his arm and was leading him to his lab while talking animatedly. Sam spent a few more seconds looking at her friend as he walked away. She realized his hair was wet, probably due to a quick shower after the game. What was he doing there? Perhaps he had come to look for her. Who knew? Sam sighed and went back to her office.


	4. Chapter 4

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 4**

The alarm sirens startled Daniel. He left his office and ran towards the gateroom. It was pandemonium, but in a few seconds it was all done. When finally everybody calmed down, there was a dead wraith on the floor and several injured members of the Atlantis expedition nearby. He almost lost his breath when he realized that one of the wounded was Sam. She was sitting on the floor, pressing her hands against a bloody stain on one of her legs. He ran towards her and offered his help.

"It's nothing, Daniel; don't worry. I just got stabbed. How are the others?"

"Nothing too serious, but I'll know better when I get them to sick bay," Dr. Keller answered. As all the injured were put on stretchers and taken to the Infirmary, the young doctor approached Sam. "We have to take you, too. We need to clean and suture that wound."

A few hours later, Sam was lying on a bed when Dr. Keller came to see her.

"I'll let you go back to your quarters, Colonel Carter, but you have to promise me that you won't put any strain on that leg. The cut went deep into the tendon and we need it to heal properly to avoid any future damage to your leg."

"All right. Do you want me to use a pair of crutches?"

"For now, I'd prefer a wheelchair. Colonel Sheppard's team is on the mission you ordered, but Dr. Jackson promised to come and help you in fifteen minutes. We were all lucky that nobody got seriously injured."

"No one realized that the wraith was faking being unconscious and that he would try to escape in spite of being tied up," Sam explained.

"Well, he's definitely dead now."

"That's bad. We need to know what he was doing on that planet. There were no other signs of the wraith."

"Dr. Jackson came earlier to inquire about your health and he saw the wraith. He said he hadn't seen one in person before. He spent some time copying the symbols from the weapon the wraith brought before Sheppard took it. It seems that it's not the standard wraith weapon." Keller finished re-bandaging the leg in silence and then suddenly said, "You're lucky to have a friend like Dr. Jackson."

Sam was surprised by the sudden change of subject. "Yes, I am," she said, just trying to be polite.

"Maybe you don't realize it, but since I came here I've noticed how women who are in charge −or just in visible positions− tend to be so _alone_."

"Alone?"

"I shouldn't be meddling in this. I'm sorry. It's just that after what happened when I went to see the Athosians, you know, especially after I went to see my father, I realized how alone I am here. I'm surrounded by people all day long, but at night, when I go back to my quarters, it's like being surrounded by a wall of silence. I think Dr. Weir felt the same… even Teyla, in spite of everything that has happened to her lately and how her life has changed so much in a second, she's still all alone."

She was not looking at Sam. She was occupying herself with the bandages and the bed linens, and Sam felt this was more like a confession that a mere friendly comment. She wanted to say something in return, but she was at a loss for words. She knew exactly what the doctor was talking about. It reflected her life as it had been for so many years so accurately, that it almost scared her.

Keller sighed and then added, "I'm sorry. This is none of my business."

"No. it's all right. I understand what you mean. Daniel is my friend and back on Earth I also had Teal'c and General O'Neill, even Cameron and Vala. We got very close after being on the same team for so many years and I really miss them."

"But Dr. Jackson came here to be close to you. That must be comforting."

Sam was dumbfounded. "He told you that?" Keller shook her head, surprised. "No," Sam continued, "Daniel has always wanted to come and stay in Atlantis, since the very beginning. While I was in Nevada he almost got his wish. He would have come even if I wasn't here."

"If you say so," Keller said and Sam felt she had made her uncomfortable.

"Why do you think he came because of me?"

"Oh, forget it. I just got the wrong impression."

"Please, tell me why."

Keller sighed again. It's mostly the way he looks at you… and also −I don't know if I should tell you this−"

Sam encouraged her with a movement of her head. "One of the nurses invited him to have dinner with her, in her quarters, you know, and he refused, very politely, but he refused, saying that he was already… he didn't exactly say _in a relationship_, more like he was in love with someone else."

"Oh. That must be-" Sam stopped. Was Daniel talking about Sha're after all these years? She thought that he had finally gotten beyond that after he came back from ascension. Maybe it was Vala; there seemed to be something there. Sam suddenly felt a new sensation. Was it Vala? She had become friends with her and she knew that Vala wanted to have a relationship with Daniel, but she had given up because she had realized that Daniel was not interested. Maybe he had changed his mind… "I don't really know," she finally said, "but I doubt it was me," she smiled. "Perhaps, he was just trying to be polite, as you said."

"Yeah, it must be that," Keller added and Sam thought she did not look convinced. "Well, you're done. I'll leave you alone. Dr. Jackson will be here soon."

After Keller left, Sam lay thinking about their talk. Was Daniel going to go back to Vala? She liked having him around, even though she had been avoiding him. It felt like it was the right thing for him to be close to her. If she had Jack, too, and also Teal'c, life would be perfect. Two good friends and… Jack had only been a friend, too, but maybe…

She closed her eyes tight, trying not to cry. Now, Daniel was in love with Vala and she was going to lose him, too. That was so unfair. Maybe if she had not been so busy looking at Jack, she would have seen it coming.


	5. Chapter 5

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 5**

"Are you ready, Sam?"

Daniel's voice brought her back to the present. "Yeah."

He helped her into the wheelchair Dr. Keller had left close to her bed. Then he rolled her towards her rooms.

"Does it hurt?"

"No; it was a deep cut, but the doctor gave me some painkillers."

"Good." In a few minutes they were in her quarters. "Okay, Sam, you know the drill. We've done this too many times. I'll leave you in the bathroom and you call me when you're ready to go to bed." He rolled her chair to the bathroom and left her there. "Be careful; don't put pressure on that leg."

Sam smiled, "Yes, dad."

He closed the door behind him and sat on a chair, waiting.

"Daniel, would you, please, do something for me?" Sam called.

He stood up and walked towards the door. "What do you need?"

"There a chest over there. Check the second drawer; I have some pajamas there. Would you get me one?"

He did as he was told and opened the drawer. Various pajama sets were inside, all plain and military looking. In one corner he spotted something pink, with a little bit of lace. He took it out and discovered it was a nightgown. A pink fleece nightgown, long and looking like what he thought his grandmother would have worn, but far better than the ugly pajamas. He closed the drawer and walked to the bathroom with it.

"Here you go, Sam."

She opened the door slightly and stretched a hand through the opening. After she had closed the door, she said, "This is _not_ a pajama, Daniel."

"You're Dr. Carter here, not the colonel," he said in a jovial tone. "Besides, it will make it easier to check your leg."

Sam realized he was right and got changed. A few minutes later she was in bed and Daniel was fixing her blankets. "I'm okay, Daniel," she said with a smile.

"All right. Do you want some water on the nightstand?"

"Sure."

He got a glass and filled it with water. He brought it to her. "There you go. I'll let you go to sleep now," he said and started towards the door.

"Hey, why don't you stay for a while? We haven't had one decent talk since you got here," Sam said.

He looked doubtful and then turned and went back to his chair. "Okay. I just thought you weren't feeling like talking lately."

Sam realized what he meant. "About Jack, you mean?"

"Mainly."

"Well, there's not much to talk over. He's dead."

"How does that make you feel, Sam?"

"How do you think it makes me feel? I suppose the same way you feel, sad."

"I wasn't in love with him, Sam."

"I wasn't either!" she said with exaggerated indignation. He just looked at her and she changed her tone. "I'm sorry. Maybe. I don't really know, Daniel." She kept quiet for a while and he did not say a word either. "I thought there was something there, but he never... he never said anything. He never retired, even after his job became pure bureaucracy. He never suggested that we could-"

"Why didn't _you_?"

"I had my doubts. He's not exactly easy to deal with and we had so many differences, especially in what we liked to do with our down time… If you think about it, I spent more time with you, even with Teal'c, than with him. Pizza and hockey nights were not my favorite pastime."

Daniel lowered his head and she could not read his expression. "But you loved him, didn't you? Isn't that what mattered? I mean, Abydos was exciting for a while, but after a year, if it weren't for the Cartouche Room… but I loved Sha're and that was all that mattered."

"You still love her?"

"I'll always love her, but she's dead and I cannot live with only her memory forever. I had a lot of guilt tied up to those memories and it took a long time to finally be able to separate them and keep only the good part in order to move on."

"So, you're ready to move on?"

"Yes," he said firmly and Sam felt that new sensation again. She realized it was probably jealousy and it surprised her.

"With Vala?"

"What? No. Why-"

"I'm sorry. It's none of my business."

"It's not that, Sam. I'm not in love with Vala, but we were talking about you and Jack, not Vala and me."

"There's nothing else to say. He's dead," she repeated.

"So, what? You're not going to have a life because of that?"

"Not just because of that. There's nothing- You know what? You and I should have one of those pacts like "if we get to forty and we're still both alone, we should get married and solve the problem."

Daniel smiled briefly at the strange idea. "I'm already over forty, Sam."

"I'm almost there, too, "she said smiling openly. "That means we should get married pretty soon."

Daniel smiled back. There was nothing he would have liked better and the joke almost hurt him. He got serious and said, "We have changed a lot this last decade, haven't we?"

She became serious, too, and nodded. "Yeah."

"A short while ago, someone told me I was _not the same innocent soul she had met ten years ago_. It surprised me very much, because if there was something I wasn't by then, it was an _innocent_ soul. Starting with the death of my parents, the foster homes, my grandfather, academia life, the Goa'uld, it all took my innocence away pretty fast. I think what I've lost is hope, some of the hope in the future, in the human kind, in myself."

"You still have hope enough for all of us, Daniel. I never had that much to begin with, especially after the death of my mother. I don't know how you did it, losing both at the same time."

"I simply had to survive, Sam."


	6. Chapter 6

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 6**

"You survived better than many others I know, who had everything going for them." She paused. "There's something between us, right? I feel we have drifted apart, you and I."

Daniel took a moment to carefully think before talking. "Yes, we have. Maybe it was Jack, right in the middle, my best friend and the man you loved, not giving anything to either of us. He kept becoming more and more withdrawn; he drifted apart from us and that created a wedge between us. We used to talk about everything, and, suddenly, there was something we had to avoid. When you start hiding things from your best friend, the bond deteriorates."

Sam felt guilty. He was right. She wanted to avoid talking about Jack and slowly she stopped talking to Daniel at all. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he said softly.

Sam could see that he was hurting, but she could not find what to say.

He stood and said, "You should rest. I'll let you sleep."

"Please, wait a little while longer, okay?"

He hesitated and then sat back down. "Sam, you have to solve your issues with Jack. He's not coming back. If you want to have a life, you have to let go. It's been too many years just idling, waiting for something to happen. When you started seeing Pete, I thought you had moved on, but, then you went backwards again."

"I know."

"I miss the old you, Sam, the one who marveled at every discovery, the one who smiled very often. I had enough grief for both of us and you used to put joy in my life."

"I'm not that same woman. I've seen too much death and destruction. I'm old and tired."

"I know you're tired. I've seen that same horror, too, and I understand that you're tired, but you're not old." He gathered a little bit of courage and added, "You're beautiful. I had never imagined that you could even look better, but your long hair looks gorgeous and makes you look younger. You're young, intelligent, beautiful. You still have a chance at starting again. Don't waste it holding on to memories. I lost my chance at new happiness the same way."

Sam felt she was blushing. Nobody had said a word about her letting her hair grow longer now that she had a different assignment. She usually kept it tied-up, but Daniel had noticed. She liked it, too.

"Now I have to go," he said.

"Hey, Daniel…" she stopped him. "So, you don't accept my proposal?" she asked smiling, without thinking twice at what she was really asking.

"What?" he asked with the same distracted air he usually had when he was clueless.

"You don't want to marry me? You just said it, I'm a good candidate."

He hesitated, looking straight at her, trying to see through her words. "You're joking, right?"

"No," she said seriously. "I mean it. Many people used to think we had something going on, especially at the beginning. We could try and see if it works."

"We're not the same, Sam, and, besides, we should try something less permanent than marriage if we really wanted to probe-"

"No. I mean it. I'm asking you to marry me. We had a lot of love for each other. I think it's still there and we just have to give it a chance, guide it, give it a path. I was blindsided by Jack and you hid behind your pain. If we really want to set ourselves free, let's do it together."

Daniel felt his legs were losing strength, so he went back to his seat. He wanted so much to say yes, but it was rash and illogical. Sam was not in love with him and he could not understand why on Earth she would want to marry him. "Sam, I think that maybe the medicines for the pain are affecting you. We'd better go to sleep now and talk about this later. I bet you, you'll change your mind after a good night of sleep." He made a big effort and smiled. "I won't hold it against you _when_ you change your mind and we'll start working towards mending our friendship. Okay?"

She nodded. He stood up, walked toward her and kissed her on the forehead.

"Go to sleep, Sam. We'll talk tomorrow."

Right after Daniel closed the door behind him, Sam realized what she had done. She wondered what had possessed her to ask such a thing from Daniel. She feared she had hurt him, that he might be thinking that he was a quick and easy substitute for her _real_ love, Jack. The truth was that during the conversation an irrational fear of losing Daniel had started filling her until she felt she could no longer breathe. If he married her, he would be hers and she would not lose him, too. He was all she had left and he had come here, close to her. She had to mark him, make him hers, and avoid any other from taking him from her. There were too many nurses, soldiers, and scientists on base who could realize what an extraordinary man he was and, if he fell for any of them, she would be alone forever.

Daniel walked to his quarters with so many ideas fighting in his mind that he raised his hands and held his head for a moment. He could not think straight. The whole thing in Sam's room had been earth-shattering for him. First, facing the deterioration of their friendship. Then, acknowledging, for the first time, face to face, her feelings for Jack. Just as hard was seeing Jack's picture smiling from the top of the dresser. And, finally, her sudden and strange request. It definitely had to be the meds. Tomorrow she would realize what she had said and take it all back. He had to prepare himself to dismiss the whole matter with a smile, without showing how much he really wanted it.

When he reached his room, he threw himself on the bed. He knew he would not sleep, but at least he had to calm the beating of his heart.

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	7. Chapter 7

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 7**

Sam woke up and all the events of the night before came back clearly to her mind. For a second she thought she had gone insane and, then, she felt very peaceful. She looked at the picture of Jack across the room and for the first time in a long time, she did not feel pain. She had been feeling that pain long before he was dead. It was a mix of disappointment, heartache, and unfulfilled hopes. More or less the same thing all around. She felt she had been teased for years and then left to wonder.

Now he was dead and she had to go on with her life, and Daniel seemed like the perfect solution. Having acknowledged her feelings for Jack in front of him made her feel very, very serene. So, she had loved Jack, but she could love Daniel, too. She already loved him as a friend, much more than she had ever loved any friend before. She also did not want him to be with anyone else. It was not really jealousy, she told herself. It was simply because they had been so close for so long that anyone else would be in the middle and would take him away from her. It would be truly hard to see him holding another woman's hand. She had already had trouble with how close Vala was to him and she actually _liked_ Vala. She was not sure that she would like the next one. The best way to avoid that was to marry him.

She felt pretty satisfied with her logic and carefully got up. With some effort she got herself on the chair and rolled to the bathroom. She started preparing for the day ahead, still thinking about her idea.

She knew she could make the marriage work. Daniel was bright, compassionate, caring, and extremely handsome. They knew each other very well and they trusted each other, too. They had to start by working out the last years of estrangement, but it was not going to be hard. They had already closed the rift by miles in one night. Besides, he did not have anyone else either. He had admitted he was not in love with Vala and there were no other women on sight, yet. He also cared about her as much as she did for him. He had to say yes. It was going to be _good enough_ and she had never had anything even remotely good enough.

When Daniel reached Sam's door, he had to stop before knocking, just to calm himself. He did not want to show his feelings. He was happy that Sam had started talking with him again and he wanted to regain the closeness they used to have. He took a deep breath and knocked.

Sam called him in and he opened the door.

"I'll be out in a minute, Daniel. I'm having trouble with these trousers," she said from inside the bathroom.

"You don't have a dress?"

"A dress? No, I don't think so."

"A skirt, maybe?"

"Mm… Only the one from the dress uniform."

"You mean you didn't bring some civilian clothes?"

"A few. Mostly jeans and T-shirts."

Daniel made a gesture of impatience. "How are you doing in there?"

"Would you mind coming in and helping me with this leg of the trouser?"

Daniel hesitated and then started opening the door. "Okay. I'm coming." He went in and kneeled on the floor to help Sam with her slacks as she sat in the wheelchair. He was careful to keep his eyes away from the rest of her body.

"Daniel, take it easy. There's nothing you haven't seen in uglier circumstances."

"One thing is when we were trying to save your life; another is this."

"You'll have to get used to it if you agree to marry me."

She said it in a very lighthearted tone and it took him by surprise. "Sam," he warned.

"You're not going to back out now, are you?"

"Sam…" He tried again.

"If you don't want to marry me, that's fine, I understand," she said, but her tone had changed.

Daniel finished maneuvering the pants and stood up. He turned the wheelchair around and pushed it into the bedroom. He kneeled on the floor again, right in front of her, and put his hands on top of hers. "Sam, this isn't about wanting or not wanting to marry you. I truly didn't think you were serious last night. You cannot ask me to marry you just because we don't have anybody else. I'm sure you can find someone you _really_ love."

"You don't _really_ love me, Daniel?"

He sighed and looked down. His next words came very softly. "I do; I love you very much. I deeply care-"

"Then, you don't think_ I_ love you enough."

"You just admitted that you were in love with Jack, Sam."

"And you put it very clearly: he's dead; as dead as Sha're. Let's move on together."

He sighed. "Then, why not start with something lighter than marriage?" he started to cave in.

"Like what? You want to _date_? Don't you think we're pretty old for the _boyfriend-girlfriend_ routine? What do you think people will start talking about if you spent a night here, for example?"

"It's none of their business."

Sam made a little sound of contempt. "I can just imagine Rodney making pseudo-funny insinuations about us."

"Do you care what they say?"

"Usually, no, but now I'm in command here. I don't want people to be distracted with my personal life."

"They will be distracted anyway. If we suddenly up and marry, there's going to be talk about it. They will wonder why-"

"We've been friends for many years. Maybe we've been closer than they know."

"You have a picture of Jack over there, not me. You don't think they have noticed that?"

"You also have a picture of him."

"Yes, in my office, close to yours and to Teal'c's, _not on my dresser_."

"He's dead; you're alive. You're here. I don't need a picture. I have _you_."

"So, what? You want to call Earth and tell them we need a license?"

"More or less."

"And this marriage you're proposing… You mean a _real_ marriage or you want to take it slow after we have taken care of what people may think?"

"I mean _real_."

"Are you including sex in the equation?"

"I said _real_, Daniel. It's not like we're brother and sister."

"No, that's not- It's just that there has never been _anything_ like that between you and me."

"You think we wouldn't be… _compatible_?"

"Do you?"

"I think we would be perfectly fine. It cannot be bad, Daniel. That's actually the only thing missing in our relationship of so many years. Maybe if we had had sex, we wouldn't have drifted apart."

"It's hard to think about having sex with someone who's in love with someone else."

"_Was_. And you were also in love with someone else, but we loved each other and we were alone. Maybe it would have helped us cope with what we had to face daily. Coming home alone didn't help."

"We spent much time together after work."

"There was always something missing."

"It could be. I don't know."

"It doesn't matter now. We're here, we're together, we still love each other, let's get on with this." Daniel did not answer and she pushed a little bit more. "It's not like I'm asking you to start a family with me, Daniel. I think we're far past that. Too old to have kids. I just want to have you close and enjoy the rest of our lives together."

She did not notice how much the remark about the children hurt Daniel and he hid his pain as soon as he could. He _did_ want to start a family with her, but he was willing to settle for just being with her.

"Then, the idea is, we get married very soon and, then, we start living like husband and wife without any-"

"Any what?"

"Any rehearsal, any- You understand me, Sam."

"Yeah. That's the idea."

"And you have faith in us?"

"I don't doubt myself. Do you doubt yourself?"

"No, not myself. I'm just worried about you."

"Then, no problem. Nothing to worry about. Let's call Earth."

He thought they should at least try a kiss, something before they announced to the world they loved each other so much they wanted to get married, but Sam turned her wheelchair around and added, "Come on, Daniel; this is going to be fun."

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	8. Chapter 8

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 8**

"Jackson!"

Sheppard's voice broke his concentration. Daniel had just entered the elevator when he heard the colonel shout. He turned his head and tried to figure out what was going on.

"Jackson, wait a minute. Can you, please, come back out?" Sheppard asked as he approached him.

Daniel hesitated for a second and then decided to honor the strange request. "Okay…"

"How did you open the door?"

"What?"

"The elevator- You know; you have to raise your arm and-" he raised his arm and showed Daniel the usual way of opening the elevator's doors in Atlantis.

Daniel seemed surprised.

"Nobody explained this to you?'

Daniel made a clear gesture and then said, "No…"

"Then how do you open the doors? Do you have the Ancient gene?"

"No. I don't."

"They tested you?"

"Yes, a long time ago."

"Okay, so explain to me how you usually open these doors."

Daniel looked perplexed. "Whenever I walk towards them to take the elevator, they simply open."

"They don't have a motion sensor and, if they did, you wouldn't be able to activate it without the gene."

"I thought that once you activate it, it can be used by the rest of the population."

"Yes. The point is _there is no motion sensor to activate_."

"Okay. So, what do you want me to tell you?"

"Does it happen with any other devices?"

Daniel thought for a second and then answered, "Mostly, anything Ancient I've been working with since I came here. Like the database, for example. It turns on as soon as I approach it to work."

"Only when you're going to work? Does it happen when you walk by it?'

"No. Only when I'm intent on using it."

"The same with the elevator, eh?"

"Yes, now that you mention it, it only opens if I'm thinking about taking it."

"How do you choose the floor you want it to stop at?"

"I think about it. Listen, it's been like that since the day I came for the first time with my team. I haven't thought about it at all."

Sheppard was more surprised than Daniel. "Okay. Let's try something else. Let's go to the puddle jumpers."

Daniel agreed and they walked to the platform where the ships were stored. As soon as Daniel walked in front of the door, it opened. They boarded and Sheppard asked him to sit in the pilot's seat.

"Okay. Try to start the engine."

He had not finished saying it when the jumper came to life. "Wow!" He immediately called the control room and requested permission for a flight.

"What are you doing there?" Sam asked.

"Jackson and I are doing some recon. Actually he's helping me understand more about Ancient technology."

Sam was curious, but thought they would tell her later and let them go. As soon as they were on the air, Sheppard asked, "Have you ever flown a jumper before?"

"I have flown_ in_ a jumper, but Jack was piloting."

"So, you're sure you haven't done this before?"

Daniel took a second and then said, "No."

"No, _you aren't sure_, or no, _you haven't_?"

"I'm not sure."

"How could you not be sure?" Sheppard asked starting to lose his patience.

"There's a whole year of my life that I don't remember. I cannot say for sure what I did or what I didn't do, but Jack was the only one supposed to have the ability to activate Ancient artifacts."

"You never tried sitting in the Antarctica chair?"

"No. There was no point. I don't have the gene."

"But you're flying the jumper without any help while you're talking to me. You're not even concentrating on it."

Daniel made his classic clueless gesture.

"What happened to you during that year? Do you know why you don't remember?"

"I was ascended."

Sheppard suddenly remembered having read the report. "Ah. You were like an Ancient. That could explain… Did you have any special powers?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, come on-"

"Are you always like this? You wouldn't happen to have some O'Neill blood in your veins?"

Sheppard smiled. "That would be an honor, sir, but I don't. This is just my charming self. So, did you have powers?"

"I've been told that I did, but I was not allowed to use them to help our people, so I came back."

"Nothing residual?"

"I don't think so."

Sheppard looked disappointed; then he changed his expression to hopeful. "Wait a minute; Rodney says you can understand anything Ancient."

"That's hardly a power."

"Yeah… Hey! Weren't you the one who got into Replicator Carter's mind and stopped the replicators everywhere for a while, just with the power of your mind?" Sheppard sounded hopeful again.

"Didn't last long and then she killed me."

"Ouch. That must have hurt. Did they have a sarcophagus?"

"Who?"

"Well, she killed you, but you're here."

"Ah. No. I kind of ascended again and then came back."

"Oh. That's when you got the Oma woman to stop Anubis- I'd say you're not your average human, wouldn't you? I can't_ kind of ascend _and come back from the dead, more than once-"

"Have you read all our reports?"

"Pretty interesting reading material."

"Sure."

Daniel landed the puddle jumper back on its platform and they both walked towards the control room.

"So, how does it feel to marry the chick who looks just like the one who killed you?"

"Chick?"

"I'm sorry. Lady."

"She's not the one who killed me. The other one was a robot, cold and insensitive."

"But you got into her mind. Did she have Carter's thoughts?"

"That's something I don't usually discuss."

"So, she probably did," Sheppard said, almost talking to himself. "How long have Carter and you been going on? We didn't know anything."

"It's a long story."

"I see. Is it usually this easy to get anything out of you? It makes it easier to understand how those people who tortured you in Honduras didn't get a thing- I'm sorry. That's probably something you don't like to joke about. It sounded pretty bad even on paper. I'm sure you didn't write the whole thing down."

"No."

"That may have been another power you kept form the Ancients."

"Everybody on my team has been tortured, unfortunately, and they haven't given anything up either."

They were back in the control room and the conversation stopped so that they could explain to the others what they had found out. It did not surprise Sam and, as Daniel tried to lessen the importance of the whole situation, she smiled at him from her chair.

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	9. Chapter 9

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 9**

When finally they all calmed down, she asked him to join her for lunch. They were walking toward the cafeteria, when he stopped and pulled her into an empty room.

"Wait, Sam. There's something we need to talk about. Sheppard just asked me about us and I don't like to go around lying just for fun. What are we going to say about us?"

Sam thought for a moment. "The truth is we've known each other for a long time, we've always been very close friends, we have spent most of our free time together over the last ten years, and, though we had drifted apart a little bit lately, we realized that we were perfect for each other and we decided to get married." She smiled pleased with herself.

"Do you really believe that?"

"That we're perfect for each other? Yes, I do. It's weird that we didn't see it before."

"What about love?"

"What about?"

"Do we love each other?"

"Of course we love each other!"

He realized that she was still talking of the same love she probably felt for Teal'c, too. Not the same love she had felt for Jack. "I do, Sam. I love you very much."

She smiled satisfied and hugged him.

He thought that, maybe, if he kept saying it, she would finally understand how much he really loved her. He pulled her away slightly, looked at her eyes, smiled, and gave her a small kiss on the lips, before turning her around and saying, "Let's go. You've been standing too long on that leg."

For the rest of the afternoon Sam wondered about the kiss. She had said they would get there _after_ the marriage. She did not want to go anywhere into the physical aspect of their marriage before the wedding, because she was afraid that it could not work and she did not want it to become the reason why she lost Daniel. She had lied to him when she had said she had no doubts. No matter how handsome and caring Daniel was, he was not Jack, and she had spent a good portion of the last ten years wondering how it would be to be with Jack, not Daniel. Nevertheless, the kiss had made her feel all cheery. She thought it was a very juvenile reaction to being kissed by one of the boys. She also thought that it was good that Daniel was starting to go with the program; for the last days she had been scared that he would suddenly back out of their deal. Perhaps, if she encouraged him more on that aspect, as the man he was, he would feel more enthusiastic about going ahead with the marriage.

That night, before going to bed, she called Daniel and asked him to meet her on one of the city's balconies. When she got there, she explained that it was one of the rarest occasions when they would be allowed to see two of the three moons over the planet, instead of the usual one. For a while they talked about moons, planets, and Atlantis, until Sam said she had to get up early in the morning and needed to go to sleep. Daniel understood and said good night. Sam was expecting a more affectionate gesture than a simple pat on the arm, so she grabbed his arm as he was turning and made him face her. She smiled widely and said, "Good night, Daniel." Then she kissed him, not letting go until she felt him respond to her. She stretched the kiss a few more seconds, then pulled back, smiled again, and left.

Daniel walked back to the edge of the balcony and reclined against the rail to calm himself. Goodness. That had been exactly what he thought it would be. Perfect, unflawed chemistry.

A few meters away, Sheppard and McKay walked past the balcony entrance and tried not to let their presence be noticed.

"Can you believe that? They were kissing!" McKay said.

"They are grown-ups, Rodney, and they're about to get married. You mean to tell me you've never kissed Katie?"

"Not in a hallway! And that's different."

"It's not different at all and that was not the hallway. It was a balcony, away from the sight of most people from this base. We wouldn't have noticed if we hadn't been looking for Carter."

"Well, now we won't be able to talk to her. No way I'm looking at her after that."

"That's ridiculous, Rodney. She's getting married to the guy. They will be kissing a lot more and you won't stop talking to her because of that."

"At least, I won't talk to her now. I'm shocked. I could have had something with her-"

"If you think about it, that's a pretty slick place for a date. Maybe a little picnic under the moon…"

"Oh, shut up!"

Sheppard smiled and they walked away.

Sam got to her room, sat on the edge of her bed, and held her head in her hands for a while. She was panicking. Why on Earth had she done that? Okay, she knew why she had done it. What had her confused was what she had felt about it. She was fully prepared for it to be an inconsequential kiss. She knew it would probably be more or less like when she had been kissed by that boy from high school −she liked him so much and then, nothing, she had not felt a thing− or by that other guy she dated twice and never saw again after an unmemorable kiss by the front door. She knew that. She had planned working on it; using her imagination a little bit to help it until, aided by the real love she had for Daniel, it could become a meaningful kiss, followed by true desire. She had come to agree with Daniel that they had to start before the wedding, so that she would be in better shape by then. The ceremony was only five days away…

And now, she was shocked. She was sure her love for Daniel was not of that kind, _yet_. Why then had she felt it so deeply? Why had it started a wave of turmoil in her body? Did she really want him? She had never even thought of that possibility. Share her life with him, sure, it sounded feasible. That was what she wanted. Make love with him? Well, yes; slowly, taking time to learn what they both wanted…

Apparently he already had a pretty good idea of what she liked, because that had been one of the best kisses of her life and it had lasted just a few seconds. Maybe that was why so many women –alien and not– had chosen him or cared for him. She could easily remember a list of the ones she knew about: Sarah Gardner, Sha're, Melosha, Hathor, Shyla, Ke'ra, Kegan, Vala, and perhaps Leda Kane or Oma Desala, too. She knew of more in Stargate Command –especially the Infirmary– and even in the Russian Commission or the I.O.A., who were interested. She had just never looked at him that way. At least not for almost ten years and she still felt guilty about those first months…

All right. She had to stop. She had truly enjoyed the kiss and that meant that her marriage to Daniel was going to be just fine. They were not going to have any problems now that she knew that the only thing missing between them seemed already to be working. Alleluia for good chemistry.

A few minutes later, she got in bed and closed her eyes. She tried to think of something else, but the last thing she saw in her mind, before finally succumbing to sleep, was the image of a pair of full, soft, rosy lips coming closer and closer to hers… Definitely not Jack's.

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	10. Chapter 10

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 10**

One more day had passed as Daniel watched the wedding day approach. He needed to do something. He could not go through with it without taking a minute to say how he felt about it, about her. He had acquiesced to what Sam was asking without even trying hard to reason with her, because what she proposed was what he wanted. It could not be right that he got that without telling the truth. He had no idea how Sam would react to it, but she deserved that he try.

He finally decided that he was going to talk to Sam after they had lunch together that day. He tried to keep the conversation light during the meal and mostly let Sam be in charge of the conversation.

"So… I've been told that one of the nurses asked you to dinner," she said about halfway through the lunch.

Daniel took a second to think about it. "No, not really. It was a doctor; Dr. Keller, but that was a while ago."

Sam was caught off guard. Why had Dr. Keller twisted the truth? Was she interested in Daniel and probing Sam for information about him or too embarrassed to tell the truth? "Dr. Keller?"

"Yep."

"Why did you say no?"

"They told you that, too? I wasn't looking for a new relationship," he said, thinking as fast as he could.

"So, you and I, we don't qualify as new or you were not looking for this either?"

"Sam. All this has been your idea."

"You mean you're just doing it because I asked you? You don't want this?"

"We'd better not discuss this here," Daniel said when he noticed Sam was getting upset. "Let's go to my office."

"Okay," Sam said.

They got up, threw the remnants of their food away and walked to the office. Once they were in, Daniel closed the door.

"I've been trying to talk about this, Sam, but I hadn't found the appropriate moment."

Sam tried to interrupt, but Daniel stopped her with a gesture of his hand.

"Let me do this, Sam. It's true this is your idea, but it's also true that I had thought before about the possibility that you and I could get together one day. The difference is that I thought we would do it because of love and not because of loneliness. Yes, I'm lonely, and yes, I would love to have someone to share my life. And also, yes, it would be perfect if that person were you. That's why I agreed to marry you. I share your feelings about our relationship until now; we're very close, or we used to be, we trust each other with our lives, we care very much about what happens to the other, we have similar tastes, and we're capable of following the other in lines of thought that get anyone else lost…"

Sam smiled as she thought of a few examples.

"But, I cannot go into this marriage under a false premise. You said you didn't want to have sex until after the wedding and, if I got it correctly, it was because, even though you don't feel very attracted to me in that way, you're sure that by then you will have psyched yourself into going to bed with me and not end up throwing up afterwards-"

"That's horrible, Daniel," Sam said, very upset.

"It's not. Many people before us have gotten themselves into arranged marriages and they have followed the same train of thought. Many will after this, too. If you think about it, I've always thought that was what Sha're was taught. That there would be a man she would be given to and that she would have to learn to love him."

"According to what Jack said, she got a crush on you right after she met you."

"That doesn't change what she was prepared to do. If Jack had been wearing the Eye of Ra, she would have been given to him and she would have had to agree, crush on me notwithstanding."

"Why are we talking about this?"

"Because this is an arranged marriage. Like it or not, this is what it is. You arranged it and I agreed. You did it because you don't want to be lonely, because you're looking for companionship and we have already been giving that to each other for years. This will just make it more official. The problem is that I don't _need _to prepare myself to be with you. I already want this. I love you very much and I can see myself making love to you. I know I _want_ to do it and I know it will be _enjoyable_ for me. That's why I can't let you sacrifice yourself. If you understand what I'm saying and you _still_ think it's right, okay, I'll marry you, but we won't make love until you really want it and, if you never do, I won't die of it. That has been missing from my life for a very long time and I'm still standing. What I want primarily is that we make each other happy, even if it's in other ways."

Sam was shocked. Admittedly, she had been thinking somewhat that way; but she had never thought she would end up throwing up. Daniel was handsome and she cared very much about him; she would enjoy it and eventually she would come to actually ask for it. It was good that Daniel already desired her; it would make things easier. He was a normal man after all.

She completely missed the point Daniel was trying to make, that he was in love with her.

"All right, Daniel. I understood everything you said. It takes a weight out of my shoulders. We'll do as you say."

Daniel hesitated for a second. He was surprised that the fact that he had just declared his love for her had almost had no effect on her.

"But I wouldn't mind a little bit more of… closeness, you know. If we kissed more often or, maybe hugged more closely, I don't know… That could start the fire," Sam suggested.

Daniel sighed. He was uncertain that she had gotten anything out of what he had said. He had tried and she was still intent on doing it her way. He would let it go, for now.

In any case, he approached her, caressed her chin softly with the tips of his fingers and gave her a long, deep kiss. Maybe she was right.

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	11. Chapter 11

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 11**

When Sam went to see Dr. Keller for her scheduled check-up for the leg injury, she had something entirely different in mind. After a few minutes of talk about the wound and its healing process, Sam opened the conversation she really wanted to have.

"I was talking to Daniel this morning and he told me about your invitation," she said casually with a smile.

"Oh, that. I told you before, didn't I?" Dr. Keller's cheeks became suddenly hot.

"I thought you told me it was a nurse," Sam said as nonchalantly as before.

Dr. Keller stopped working on the leg and looked at Sam eye to eye. "I apologize. I was worried about Dr. Jackson. I had noticed that he usually was surrounded by people, but he still looked so lonely… I was thinking that if I got him to talk to me in a more private environment…"

Sam felt very bothered. She knew how lonely Daniel was; she was doing something about it. Keller had no right to try and fill the void in Daniel's life- She had to stop midway in her thought because she realized what she was actually feeling was jealousy. "I understand," she tried with the same smile.

"No, I don't think you do. I don't know what was really going on between the two of you by then, but I'm glad you have it figured it out. What I wanted to talk about with him was_ you_."

"Me?"

"Yes. Now I understand why, but by then I had only noticed that every time no one was paying attention, he looked at you, and I felt he was suffering. I'm not as good as Dr. Beckett at reading people, but I wanted to help. That's also the reason why I asked you about him."

"Well, by then I thought there was nothing left between us," Sam twisted the truth herself.

"It looks like you were wrong. He seems very happy now."

"We both are," Sam said softly and ended the conversation.

As she walked towards the control room, she promised herself to take some time before the wedding to figure out her feelings. She was baffled by all the different feelings Daniel was generating in her. First was the issue of the bouts of jealousy, pretty frequent lately. Then there was the _cheerfulness_ she felt when she was with him. She had looked for another word to describe it, but she always ended up at the same point: she felt cheery, jolly, happy. Finally, there was the mayhem his proximity was causing in her body. That last kiss after lunch had left her wanting more.

Why was she feeling all this if she was not in love with him? She was acting more like a girlfriend than a best friend. Even the reason why she had originally asked him to marry her started looking suspicious.

She decided to go to her quarters and think now that life in Atlantis was under control, for a while at least. Once she was in her room, she opened the bottom dresser drawer and took Jack's picture out. She had put it there after Daniel had agreed to marry her. Yep, she still loved him. Probably in a different kind of way, more longing than love, but still he provoked strong feelings in her. Daniel knew it; she had not hidden it from him.

So, what was what she was feeling for Daniel? She meditated on it for a long while. She finally decided that perhaps she was starting to fall for Daniel. That was good. It was going to take a long time to surpass the love she had had for Jack, but there was a chance that someday it would happen. She would cultivate this little love and enjoy it as it grew.

Satisfied with her analysis, she went back to work.

өөө

The wedding ceremony had to be re-scheduled for a late hour in the evening, due to the quarantine General Hammond and Teal'c had to endure at the Midway Space Station. The old general arrived quite tired by the whole experience and Sam and Daniel decided to give him the afternoon to rest. Because of his age and a few health concerns in the last months, he had chosen the shorter journey of thirty minutes through the Intergalactic Gate Bridge instead of the three weeks in hyperspace on board the Daedalus. Unfortunately, he had not taken into account how stressing it would be to sit idle for a full day in the middle of a chain of stargates, seventy, to be exact, over a distance of three million light years. The whole notion had accelerated the rhythm of his heartbeat far beyond its normal limits. He had suddenly felt too old for such feats.

While General Hammond rested comfortably in a guest room, Sam spent the time searching for something appropriate to wear on her wedding night. She finally gave up, convinced that she had not brought one single item of clothing which could reflect what she wanted Daniel to understand. While she was sitting in her room, filled with frustration, Teal'c came to see her.

"SamanthaCarter," he greeted her with their now customary hug.

"Teal'c, I'm so glad that you could come! I know that everybody is very busy at Stargate Command these days, but I'm very happy that we'll have someone who still lives in the Milky Way."

"You still feel like an outsider, Samantha?" Teal'c asked as he accepted the seat Sam offered.

"The truth, yes. Half the population here expects me to act like Elizabeth Weir and the other half doesn't even feel I'm in command yet. I'm not a scientist anymore; McKay takes most of the credit for that, and I'm not a commanding officer either; that's John Sheppard. They see me as a civilian, almost like a governor, and I miss all the other opportunities I had when I was with SG-1. And that's not all. When I was at the SGC, I used to keep working until very late at night, even stay overnight in my quarters, but, finally, one way or another, after a long mission or after a hard project, I could go home. Here, there's no interruption. If exhaustion doesn't stop me, I could keep on going and going. Dr. Carson Beckett instituted the _Sunday_, because nobody was taking real time off."

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	12. Chapter 12

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 12**

"Your marriage to DanielJackson is going to change that, at least. You will have a reason to stop working and retreat to your own space."

"Not much private space," Sam joked as she signaled the extent of her rooms.

"The size of the space does not matter if you can share it with the man you love," Teal'c said solemnly.

Sam felt like telling him exactly how she had ended up marrying Daniel, but it made her feel almost embarrassed, so she simply smiled.

"It has taken DanielJackson and you a long time to figure out your feelings for each other."

"I'm still trying to figure them out," Sam smiled again.

"But it is positive that you have gone as far as realizing you are the perfect mates for each other."

"Do you think, Teal'c?"

"I have no doubt."

Sam was surprised by his comment, but she could not find a reply. After some more talk about the Pegasus Galaxy, Sam invited him for a short tour of the city.

They walked along the corridors of one of the pylons to allow Teal'c to get different views of the city. After twenty minutes they started their way back to the command tower. They had just entered one the transport chambers, when Teal'c said, "Colonel Mitchell sent his good whishes and expressed his intention to take DanielJackson and you to dinner when you make your way back to Earth, but ValaMalDoran sent something special for you."

"For me? Not for Daniel?"

"You must have noticed that ValaMalDoran has romantic feelings for DanielJackson and it has been a hard blow to know of your wedding, but she is also your friend and she is certain that you will make DanielJackson happy, as I am."

"Yeah, I had noticed," Sam said with sadness, "Daniel didn't seem to share those feelings."

"He does not. He has over the years learned to appreciate her good qualities –as he does with everyone– but he is not in love with her."

"I'm sorry this has hurt her," Sam said, trying to deviate the talk away from Daniel's feelings.

"She has come to terms with it."

When they arrived to the section where the guest rooms where situated, Teal'c walked towards his room to retrieve the present. He gave Sam a rectangular box as he said, "This is Vala's gift. She insisted I tell you _you would need it_. This one," he handed her a small box, "is from me. I took the liberty of buying your customary wedding rings and I have given them to DanielJackson, but I found this in the same store and I thought it was fitting for you. I hope you do not feel I disrespect you by giving you such a personal gift."

Before even opening the box, Sam hugged him and said, "You could never disrespect me, Teal'c. You're like my big brother, more than my own. Thank you." She then opened the small box and found a small gold cross.

"You told me once of the cross you inherited from your mother and lost in college. I thought that it would be suitable for you to have something reminiscent of your mother on a day like today."

Sam hugged him again. "Thank you, Teal'c!"

Sam then left Teal'c and went back to her room to get ready for the wedding.

өөө

During the small celebration that followed the wedding ceremony, Sam could barely keep herself calm. She was alternating between a strange sense of dread and breathless anticipation.

The last few days had completely altered her perception of Daniel. She knew how caring, compassionate, fair, loyal, and sensitive he was. She was certain of how passionate he was about his job and about his beliefs. She could add many other positive characteristics to his personality and she also knew some that he considered his worse defects –she wished many people had _those _defects, mostly imperceptible in her opinion– but she had no idea about this _other_ side of him.

She had invited him to_ start the fire_ and she had opened the door to that _other side_. The addition of a multitude of small gestures made her realize that he meant it when he said he cared about her.

There was the time, two nights ago, as they were sitting in the empty mess hall overlooking the pier, at two in the morning, working on an especially difficult report, when he had suddenly stopped offering his opinion and she had discovered his reflection on one of the glass panels looking longingly at her, lost in thought. It had made her feel desired without even a word.

There was the way he put his hand on her shoulder, passing his arm behind her back, like giving her support. It had been a long time since he had done that and, though she had never assigned too much weight to the gesture, now that she was having hard times in Atlantis, it felt wonderful.

What about the way he softly drew circles in her back with the palm of his hand when she complained of fatigue three days ago? Or the little kiss on her fingertips this morning that had made her shiver from head to toe? They were just small gestures, full of tenderness.

Probably influenced by her knowledge of other men, she had expected him to make the few days leading to the wedding far more physical. Instead, he had given her a peek into a world where she was cared for, desired, loved. It had worked. She wanted that and she wanted more, though she was not sure how she was going to make it known to Daniel.

The dread came from somewhere else in her soul. It was the same place where she always found strength to fight for her beliefs, but rarely confidence in her value as a woman. She could fool any man about it, but not herself. Her friend Janet had been the first one to point it out, a long time ago, and Sam had tried to deal with it many times over the years, but she still felt the same fear of abandonment as before. She remembered discussing it with a psychiatrist friend, who had marked the loss of her mother during her teenage years as the possible cause, but she had identified her relationship with Jonas Hansen as the beginning of all her problems.

Now, while everybody else was having a good time, she feared that Daniel would realize that it was a mistake to give her all that tenderness and care. After all, she had confessed to loving Jack. He had to see how wrong she was for him and leave her.

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	13. Chapter 13

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 13**

Late that night, while the party was still in full swing, Daniel thanked the guests and left with Sam. After they reached her quarters, where he had already moved the few possessions he had brought from Earth, Daniel offered to take the bathroom first to change for the night, so that Sam could take as long as she needed to deal with the wedding attire. Sam agreed and a few minutes later he came out dressed in his blue pajamas.

"Sam?" he called when he did not see her in the bedroom.

"I'll be there in a minute," she said from the small office beside the den that completed her quarters.

"I can go to sleep on the sofa, if that's better for you," he said as he took a few items from a small bag.

"No," she said as she entered the bedroom, "please, stay."

Daniel kept searching for something inside the bag. "It's okay, Sam. I've done it millions of times. I've spent my fair share of hours on Jack's couch-" He stopped himself when he realized that mentioning Jack was not the best way to start his wedding night, even if he was sleeping on the sofa. "Sorry. I just need my clock and I'll be on my way. I'm sure I put it in here."

"Daniel, you don't have to get up early tomorrow. Sheppard will be in charge for the next two days. This is our honeymoon. We can just hang around here and nobody will question it. These quarters are separated from the rest of the living area. They are the only ones this close to the Operations Center. And, besides, Teyla offered to make sure we got our meals here, so that we didn't have to go to the cafeteria."

"That's very thoughtful of all of them, but this is not that kind of honeymoon… Well, in any case, I have no clue what I did with the clock, so I'll trust that you'll wake me up sometime. I still can't get used to these _fake_ days." He closed the small bag and turned around. For the first time he saw Sam since he had come out of the bathroom. "Wow!" he said without thinking. Then he closed his eyes for a second to take a moment to think and added, "I'm sorry, Sam. It's just that I didn't expect… I thought you didn't have anything like that," he said as he pointed to her outfit.

"I didn't." she said with a small smile. "Vala sent it. It's her gift _for both of us_, as she says in the card."

"I can understand that," he said. "What I don't understand is why you're wearing it." He lost his train of thought for a minute; he was sure he could not avert his eyes from Sam. She was wearing a black baby doll, mostly made with lace, which did not leave much to the imagination. He could clearly see the two matching pieces of underwear that peeked from below the lace. The robe on top of it was as revealing.

"You said we would wait until I wanted it. Now, I do. I want this very much."

"You do?" he asked even though that was not exactly what he wanted to know. "I'm sorry; I'm sorry, Sam. This is kind of unexpected." He sat down on the edge of the bed and talked while looking at his hands, the floor, the hem of his pajama pants, anywhere but Sam. "I thought you were not even considering sex after our talk. I told you, you don't have to do this until you're truly ready."

Sam kneeled on the floor in front of him. Daniel looked straight at his hands as they rested on his legs. Sam put her hands on top of his. "Look at me, Daniel." She waited a few seconds until he complied. "Now, I heard everything you told me a couple of days ago. I deeply appreciate you looking out for me that way. I even thought about taking you up on your offer, but these last days I've started to feel different about it. It's true, and it hurts to recognize it in front of you, that I had a preconceived notion of what sex would be with you-"

Daniel made an almost imperceptible gesture, but Sam noticed.

"I'm really sorry to hurt you, but I'm trying to be honest." He nodded in agreement and she continued. "I didn't think you'd make me throw up, Daniel." She smiled nervously. "I just thought that we wouldn't have the same chemistry you had with Sha're-"

"Or you with Jack," he said and he regretted it as soon as the words came out of his mouth.

"We'd never know that, Daniel, but you got the general idea. I was just afraid of this new side of our relationship."

"So?"

"I'm not afraid anymore."

"Why? What changed?"

"The way I look at you changed, like the fact that it makes me jealous when another woman looks at you."

"It does?"

"When they touch you, smile at you, prepare dinner for you, train with you-"

Daniel smiled and interrupted her. "You're exaggerating, aren't you?"

"Not much," she sighed and smiled, too. "It really bothers me when a woman pays attention to you and that happens very often. I hadn't realized before. I thought it was because I was used to working with you all the time and we pretty much didn't do anything with anyone from outside the team, but lately I've had to recognize that it's just jealousy."

"You don't have any reason to be jealous, Sam. I'd never betray you," he said very seriously.

"I know, Daniel. I trust you. It's the women I don't," she said and she let out a little laugh. "Especially alien women. You're some kind of_ alien-girl-magnet_, Daniel."

He laughed a little and she squeezed his hands before going back to her explanation.

"In any case, that was the first sign. Then I realized how much I enjoy when you touch me, when you take care of me. There are a multitude of small things that you used to do, especially at the beginning, during the first years of the team, that just made me feel at ease, comfortable, I don't know. But during these last years it's like an abyss grew between us and we became almost indifferent to each other's needs. Then, this last week, you brought all the past back to my life and I liked it. It made me happy, Daniel."

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	14. Chapter 14

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 14**

"I've been afraid to be too close to you, Sam. Sometimes I didn't notice how much I invaded your personal space or touched you in many different –innocent– ways, until, suddenly, around the time when I came back from ascension, it became evident and I consciously tried to stop. After the death of my parents, Sam, I was always starved for proximity and tenderness, and without even noticing, I tried to get them in spite of the others' feelings. I had to rethink that and modify my behavior."

"You shouldn't have. I enjoyed it and I'm sure that if anyone else was bothered, they would have told you. That was part of what made you _you_. I want you to always be that way."

"Whatever makes you happy, Sam. Just tell me when it gets to be too much."

"I don't think that's possible, more than ever, Daniel, now _that you belong all to me…_" she added in a joking tone, trying to sound like a movie monster.

Daniel smiled.

"And, last but not least," Sam said with a soft, deeper voice, "I want you; I really, really want you, Daniel. Please, don't tell me no," she looked down and added, "unless _you're not ready_."

Daniel took a deep breath. He would have preferred a thousand times over to be told that he was _loved_, but the fact that she_ desired_ him was not that bad. Something to work with at least. "I am ready, Sam. Whenever you are."

Sam let his hands go and got closer to hug him. "Thank you, Daniel."

"You don't have to thank me, Sam," he said as he mentally reacted to every millimeter of her body in contact with his. "You know what a wonderful woman you are. I would be crazy not to want you."

Sam tightened the embrace and Daniel thought he would not be able to keep breathing for much longer.

"If this is what you want, I want it, too," he said close to her ear. He took a deep breath to capture the soft perfume coming from her long hair –while he offered a quiet thank you to whatever muse inspired her to let it grow– and he pulled back just far enough to be able to look at her eyes before he kissed her. So many years now he had been waiting –dreaming– for this moment to happen, that he had to purposely pace himself not to drag Sam onto the bed and make love to her without much preamble. He wanted her to have a unique experience. He wanted to make her feel what nobody had dared make her feel before, so that she would never regret having chosen him. Whatever he had learned over the years because –and in spite– of his bizarre love life, he was going to combine to get Sam to reach sensations and feelings she had not known before. He did not have much idea of what Sam's lovers had achieved earlier, but if he went by what he knew of the personalities of men like Jonas Hansen and Pete Shanahan, he could not get it too wrong. He had thought about it for a long time and though he had not imagined it would happen so soon, he was ready.

He pulled slightly back again to check the reaction this first kiss had had on Sam. She still had her eyes closed. He felt satisfied with the faster rhythm of her breathing. He got up and took her with him. As they were standing face to face, he kissed her again. He took longer this time, while he held her face in her hands. Then he moved slightly backwards and simply looked at her.

Sam opened her eyes, feeling dizzy after the kisses, and saw Daniel just watching her. He had an intense look that made her imagine that was the way an artist scrutinizes his paint to check the effect his last stroke had on it. She wanted to do something, but she felt his look immobilized her.

Daniel stretched his arms and rested his hands on her shoulders. Then he slowly slid the robe down her arms until it fell on the floor.

Sam had boldly worn the ensemble Vala had sent, even though she would have never chosen it herself. Now, she was not sure if it had been the right decision. For a second she felt completely vulnerable, barely covered by the silky lace, but then she looked at Daniel's eyes and she realized he was looking at hers. There was fierce passion there, except that it was not solely directed at her body, but at her as a whole. She could feel his desire, but it was more than the need of shared sex; it was the wish to become one with her, to go beyond what their bodies could express and reach her soul. From then on, she lost precise account of what he was doing. She allowed herself the freedom to react purely to his touch while she enjoyed their new intimate connection.

өөө

Sam woke up warm and comfortable and realized Daniel was holding her from behind. Literally holding her. One of his arms came from under her body, right at the height of her waist, and the other one joined it from the top. It felt strange, but relaxing. She carefully turned around in his arms to face him. He woke up, but he did not let her go. When he looked at her in the semi-darkness of the room, she had a flash from the past. Instead of looking at his eyes smiling at her from so close, she saw them bloodshot, surrounded by bandages, dying of radiation poisoning. She closed her eyes and shivered.

Daniel reacted immediately and pulled her closer to him as he asked, "Are you cold? Are you all right?"

She nodded and stretched her arms to hug him, too. She hardly ever remembered that incident. She did not want to remember it. She tried to calm herself and put her head close to his. She breathed his scent in deeply and suddenly she remembered being in his office, smelling the soft leather of his notebook after she thought him lost forever. She shivered again.

"Sam, Sam. What's going on? Are you okay?" He moved the blankets closer and arranged them to cover her better.

"I'm okay. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? Sorry about what?" he asked softly.

"For not telling you how much you mean to me, how important you are. I'm always taking you for granted. I think my brain is trying to remind me that I haven't always had you, that I lost you many times, and that I should be grateful for this."

"I love you, too, Sam," he said, knowing full well that that was not what she was trying to say and that she would not interpret his words in the way he really meant them.

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	15. Chapter 15

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 15**

The rest of the two-day honeymoon was spent mostly in quiet exploration and intimate talk. They stayed in their living quarters and listened to music as they made love, talked, or simply shared their meals. 

For Sam it was a completely new experience. She could not remember having spent time that way with anyone before and what most surprised her was how at ease she felt with Daniel.

Their first morning together, they heard a soft knock on the main door. Daniel got a pair of shorts and went to see. He found that Teyla had kept her promise and a tray with a warm breakfast was awaiting them on the hallway floor.

Meanwhile, Sam looked for her pajamas in the dresser. She opened the second drawer and realized that now that was Daniel's drawer and it only contained some of his sweatshirts. She took one and went back to bed in it.

Daniel put the tray on the nightstand and sat with his back against the headboard. Then he encouraged Sam to sit between his legs and rest her back on his chest while he tenderly fed her.

While they were sitting this way, he suddenly said, "After I saw my parents die and my grandfather left me, I promised myself I would not love anyone else that much ever again. I didn't want to have to go through that kind of pain again."

Sam was shocked by the magnitude of Daniel's confession. "You were too young, Daniel," she managed to say.

"I know, but I had a very clear idea of why I was hurting so much. If I didn't love anyone, it wouldn't hurt anymore."

"Did it work?"

"Not much. I had many foster families, but as soon as someone in the family cared a little bit about me, I developed serious feelings for them, especially the moms. They were generous people in general; they just didn't know how to deal with me."

Sam remembered having read a report about Daniel's childhood where they called him W_underkind_. "You were not a normal child, Daniel. Someone as bright as you and with all the background you got while traveling with your parents… It must have been difficult for any family. Did they resent everything you knew and how you probably did better in school than their own children?"

"No, for the most part, they didn't care enough. The hardest part was not being able to have an adult conversation with anyone, as I constantly had with my parents. They always treated me like an equal-" he let out a little laugh, "with tons of rules, but an equal."

"And later on?"

"It was harder with women. By then I had found something better −at least in my mind− to devote all my energy. My job, my studies, my career took all my time. I really tried to commit to Sarah; she seemed to love me very much. I just wasn't ready. Everything else was more important than her and when she realized, she left me. It was entirely my fault. I regret it very badly, but who knows where I'd be now if it hadn't been that way."

"Probably not right here holding me, so I don't regret it at all," Sam said with a hint of wickedness right before she tickled him.

Daniel dropped some of the coffee he had in his cup and they spent some time cleaning up and laughing. When they finally sat back down on the bed, Sam dared ask the question she wanted to know the most about.

"What happened with Sha're?" she asked softly, trying to check his reaction, ready to let it go if Daniel did not want to talk about it.

He made a little gesture that Sam interpreted as a mix of sadness and longing. Then he said, "That first night, when she came into my tent, I didn't know she had been given to me as a _wife_. I realized she was a _gift_, yes, and once that was clear, I tried to give her back, but her people didn't take it kindly when I peeked outside and tried to explain it, so I let her stay in my tent. That way her family wouldn't think she wasn't worthy. We spent the night talking and she helped me discover the clues that explained what had happened with Ra. By the time I found out she was my wife, I was already falling for her. She broke my heart when she said she hadn't told anyone that I didn't want her-"

He suddenly became quiet and Sam stayed very still.

"For a while I thought I'd never get over it," he said as abruptly as he had stopped talking.

"Over losing her?"

"Losing her too, yes, it was very hard, but I think I knew from the very first day in Chulak that she'd never _really_ come back to me. I had a long time to learn to live with that."

"Then what was the hardest part?"

"The guilt, Sam, the guilt. I still wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares, knowing that she was taken because I _had_ to open the gate, because I couldn't just be content with what we had, because I needed to know more and-"

"Daniel," Sam tried.

"It's okay, Sam," he said changing the tone, trying to smile. "I'm sure you're going to say it's not my fault, but I know you feel the same way about Martouf."

Sam was surprised by his words, but it took her only a few seconds to realize that he was right. After that, it was much easier for her to talk about her feelings with him. He seemed to know them already, sometimes better than her. They even talked about Jack and his influence in both their lives.

By the time they had to resume their normal life, Daniel had realized that Sam's feelings for him were deeper and more complex than she was ready to admit, to him and to herself, and he felt more at peace with his decision to allow their relationship to also become physical.

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	16. Chapter 16

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 16**

Over the next three months, they both learned to share the confined space they called home and they helped each other with the difficulties of living in a place where there was nowhere to go that did not imply more work. 

Daniel spent countless hours compiling data in the V. R. Room; so much that sometimes he felt that the holographic interface had become his team. He carefully studied as much as he could of the recorded history of the Ancients and he discovered that the last ones to inhabit the city –after they banished the Earth expedition– had added valuable information about their own journey.

He also worked with other scientists to chart the new location of Atlantis in the star maps of the Pegasus Galaxy and he helped record data from their expedition to be projected to future generations.

Sam started feeling more at ease with her commanding position and realized that having Daniel to come back to every evening changed the value of everything she did. She was also grateful for his support; being able to talk with him before making certain decisions was a relief. She had always felt that General Hammond and General Landry had had a resonance board in SG-1. Even Jack O'Neill had had Sam, Teal'c, and Daniel to discuss his options. She did not feel that the Atlantis team was ready for her yet; Elizabeth Weir's style had been very different and they were taking longer than expected to get used to her. She knew that the final decision –and all the responsibility– was hers, but it made it easier to have Daniel's support and advice.

It was about then when the first reports of _the_ discovery reached Atlantis. SG-1 had recovered a series of artifacts on the planet where Jack had found his death. To atone for having caused the loss of one of their most distinguished guests, the inhabitants of the remote planet had allowed the SG teams to conduct several reconnaissance missions among the multiple ruins surrounding the main cities. After months of exploration, Cameron, Teal'c, and Vala had come unto a group of artifacts, undoubtedly Ancient in origin, that had been semi-buried among a half burned group of ruins. The scientists at Stargate Command had already started cataloguing and identifying the purpose of each artifact, but they felt stumped when they got to a small group of particularly burned ones.

Several failed attempts to reach a conclusion, prompted the Earth scientists to request the help of their most qualified colleague in Ancient matters, Dr. Daniel Jackson. The artifacts were taken to Atlantis by the Daedalus and left in an especially secured room, in case the devices turned out to be dangerous or harmful.

Daniel had already worked on them for two weeks, recovering information about most of them, when he decided to start deciphering the complex writings atop the biggest of the artifacts. It was a rectangular object that looked like a big box. It measured two by two and a half meters and it was half a meter tall. It was very damaged by the fire, but with several chemical washes Daniel got to see most of the inscriptions.

After he had translated a good part of them, he sat down to try and make sense of his writings. It seemed to be a collection of emergency procedures to be followed in the event of diverse catastrophes. Daniel wondered at the likelihood that someone would use such a burdensome object just to stipulate rules. He knew the artifact had been scanned and X-rayed on Earth and that nothing had been detected inside, but he still felt it was necessary to open it to figure out its purpose.

He was looking for some writing on it that could explain how to open it, when he received a call from Sam asking him to join her for lunch in an hour. As he talked to her, he walked around the box and pressed his fingers on top of a series of signs on the side panel. To his surprise the object started opening immediately. He finished his conversation with Sam and took a moment to think through what had just happened. As with the elevator and the puddle jumper, he had intuitively known how to make it work. As soon as Sam distracted him, his subconscious mind took over and he opened the box.

Once the lid was up, Daniel saw that the artifact was filled with a feast substance. It looked like some kind of pale paste. He took a sample and called Sam. In a few minutes a hazmat team and several scientists were in the room. Over the next hours, the substance was analyzed and declared non-dangerous. It seemed to be some kind of preservative or additive, such as those added to certain food products to prolong their shelf life.

Once the properties of the substance were clear and a good amount was taken for future study, Daniel was back alone in his lab. Over the course of the following week, he realized that the substance seemed to be drying out. It made him think of an opened tin of shoe polish which slowly shrinks until it becomes a small hard concentrated version of itself. He thought about closing the box, but the writings on the inside walls, that were more evident every day, kept him from doing it. After another week he realized there seemed to be an object under the final layer of goo.

It looked like something long and wide. He could see dark spots almost touching the side edges of the box and he was certain that the object was at least two meters long. The shape seemed to be quite irregular, but he was not willing to speculate about it until he had more data.

For a while he considered the need of telling the rest of Atlantis about his discovery, but he decided to wait until the object was better defined.

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	17. Chapter 17

**All That I Need** by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 17**

Sam walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. It was midday and she should have still been working, but an undefined apprehension had her out of sorts. She decided to go to her quarters and rest for a while.

It was a rare occasion when she had the chance to get to her bed during the day. She mostly worked all day until everybody else was done for the night. She liked the idea of being the last one, the one who figuratively turned the lights off. The best part was that Daniel always waited for her. She simply walked by his lab at the end of the day and he stopped his work and followed her. Then they talked about the events of the day and the news coming from Earth. There usually was something worthy of comment in a place like Atlantis.

Every night Daniel would take his shower first and wait for her while reading in bed. He had started their _tradition_ −if she could call it that− the first night after their honeymoon. That day she came out of the bathroom wearing one of her ugly pajamas and found him sitting in bed, smiling at her.

"What?" she asked with a smug tone.

"Nice outfit," he answered still smiling.

"What? You don't like it?" she kept the joke going.

"Oh, yes, it's beautiful. It just gives me plenty of ideas."

"Such as…?"

"Come here and I'll tell you; you're shivering."

She smiled. She was cold. She did not think she was actually shivering, but she was cold. It was uncanny how Daniel always knew how she felt. She walked towards the bed and got in. Daniel slid under the covers and spooned behind her. He surrounded her with his body and she started to feel better.

A few seconds later he kissed her neck from behind and let one of his warm hands slide under the top of the pajama.

"Daniel?" Sam asked amused.

"I told you; those pajamas give me ideas. I'm thinking about taking them off," he said with a soft voice.

"If the rest of you is as warm as this hand," she said as she caressed his hand from above the cloth, "I wouldn't mind it at all." She turned and realized that he was not wearing anything. "I think you got the ideas way before you saw the pajamas."

"You caught me," he said right before he kissed her and started the tradition. They had made love every single night since then.

Sam knew she could have stopped him any time with a simple word or gesture, but she was enjoying it too much to stop it. It was hard for her to imagine that anyone would be as aroused by her almost-forty body, complete with scars and marks from her years in the service, as Daniel was. And the week-ends were better.

She wondered if _normal_ women had such a… _steady_? no, _rich_ sex life. She had not had one like this ever in her life and her two best friends in the last years were not there to help her. Janet was gone and Vala, well, Vala was simply _not_ normal.

The best part was that Daniel was so good at it. He could also be trying to make up for his lack of love-life, but it did not matter why. He was great and she loved him for it. He even found different ways to change a little something here or there, so that the lovemaking did not become a routine.

Now, lying on their bed, she reflected on how her life had changed in the last months. From being lonely, pinning after something impossible −Jack− and with a huge self-esteem problem, she had become a _happily married woman_. The whole expression seemed amusing to her, but she was definitely married and happy. She had made the right choice.

If only this sense of dread went away too…

өөө

When Daniel looked inside the box the next morning, he realized that the object was more visible and that it vaguely resembled the shape of a body with extended arms. It seemed to be encased in some kind of dark hard container that made it impossible to exactly see what was inside. He carefully removed some of the remaining substance from the place where the head would be, but he still could not see what it contained. For a second he thought it could be some sort of Supersoldier, but then he remembered that they had found no signs of the Goa'uld on the planet where the box was buried.

He finally started looking for a way to open the container. After careful examination, he found a small pin that seemed to be the tip of some style of release mechanism. He pulled it and the artifact opened. He approached it cautiously and saw that indeed there was a body inside it. He touched one leg, clothed by what looked like black pants, and felt it hard and cold. Whoever it was, he or she was not alive.

He walked around the body, uncovering it carefully. The black outfit covered all of it. The style did not seem familiar; Daniel did not recognize it. When he got to the face, he saw that it, too, was protected by some kind of mask.

He put extra caution into taking the mask off and when he finally got it off he looked directly into the face of Jack O'Neill. Hit by surprise, he jumped backwards. Then he looked again and confirmed what he believed he had seen. A few seconds later he ran towards the desk and called Sam to his lab.

Sam heard the urgency in Daniel's voice and ran to find him. Though he had not said why he needed her, she was certain that it was something important. She got even more worried when she realized he was waiting for her in the hallway. He seemed pale and nervous. She quickened her pace.


	18. Chapter 18

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 18**

"Sam," he stopped her at the entrance of the room. "I didn't think you should see this until I knew more about it, but you're the head of Atlantis and I had to tell you first." 

"What is it?" she asked warily.

He hesitated and then he guided her in by her arm. "You have to see it, Sam. There are no signs of life that I can perceive…"

"Life? You have a person there?"

Daniel did not answer. They reached the box and before he uncovered the face, he softly said, "It's Jack, Sam."

Sam felt as if she had frozen. She could not move or take her eyes off Jack's face. He looked very pale and lifeless, but, though she knew he was dead, she could not contain a certain excitement at the idea that at least he was back with them.

"Sam?" Daniel asked softly. "Are you all right?"

She recovered and answered. "Yes, I'm fine, Daniel. It's just-"

"It's shocking, I know. We need to call the Medical Bay and see what we can find out, Sam. He's completely dressed, but I don't see any signs of the damage he would have suffered if he had really crashed against the surface of the planet." 

"What do you think happened? Sam asked, feeling almost dizzy.

"I don't know. Maybe this is some sort of escape pod. Didn't look like one, though. It's as if he has been carefully positioned there. Perhaps in a burial ceremony… I just keep thinking that he's in stasis and that there's a way to wake him up."

"Why would you think that, Daniel? The last time he was put on stasis, he was frozen."

"I know, Sam. It's just an idea that suddenly occurred to me and I can't take it out of my head. If you asked me to tell you right now what's exactly going on, without thinking, I'd say with absolute certainty that he's in stasis."

Sam thought for a short while and then asked, "Do you think that maybe this is something you've seen before, when ascended or through Merlin's eyes?"

"You know I can't say that for sure."

"But, since you got here, lots of things have been happening to you that indicate that you _do_ have some of those memories in your subconscious. It's like this place is bringing them up to the surface. Perhaps this is one of them. Why don't you just tell me the first idea that comes to your mind when I ask you the next question?"

"Okay."

"What do we have to do with him now?"

"Once the substance is totally gone, we have to remove him from the box immediately and initiate the procedures to revive him." He said all at once, fast and without even thinking through it.

"Daniel?"

"Did you hear what I just said? I don't know where it came from."

"Do you know what the procedure is?"

"I have no idea," he said feeling helpless.

"Well, first, let's wait for the substance to be gone. I'll have a team ready to take him out after that. We'll take the box to the Infirmary and we'll be ready when it happens. Maybe by then we'd figure out what to do next."

Daniel assented with a movement of his head. His mind was full of ideas and he was not sure where they were coming from. He had to sit and relax and maybe he would find the answers they needed.

After they had everything set in the Sick Bay, Daniel continued studying the inscriptions in the box to try to figure out their next steps. During the afternoon, Sam came to check up on the state of the evaporating substance.

One of the nurses approached her and said, "Are you going back to the Operations Center, Colonel Jackson? Dr. McKay needs these pills for his allergies and he hasn't come to get them yet. "Do you mind taking them?

"Sure," Sam answered and the nurse gave her a small bottle of pills. After the nurse had left them alone, Daniel asked, "Colonel Jackson?"

Sam smiled. "The military personnel know that I kept my maiden name, but the civilians sometimes call me Jackson and that's fine with me. It just takes less paperwork to keep Carter, but I don't mind if they use your name." She smiled again and then asked Daniel some questions about the box, the inscriptions on it, and Jack's body.

Daniel noticed that she barely looked inside the box. He could not shake a sense of despair and some very strong clashing feelings. On the one side, he was genuinely happy that there was a chance that Jack could be alive. On the other hand, he was almost certain that it would mean the loss of Sam to Jack. It was not like she had taken the marriage as such a commitment; she had not even taken his name.

A few seconds after that though crossed his mind, he scolded himself for being unfair. Many women these days did not use their husbands' names and that fact did not say anything about their marriage. Sam had been a perfect wife until then and there was no reason to think that she was not committed.

Later that evening there was still enough substance in the box to assume it would not all be gone by the morning. Daniel asked for a guard to keep an eye on it just in case.

When Sam got out of the shower that night, she was surprised to see that Daniel seemed already asleep. She approached the bed and called him softly. He mumbled something unintelligible without opening his eyes. She got in bed, close to him, and noticed that he was wearing the same blue pajamas he had worn their wedding night. As soon as she was close enough, Daniel mumbled something else she could not understand and stretched his arms and held her in the same position they usually assumed _after_ making love.

Sam tried to make sense of his change in behavior and she only came up with the fact that the whole _finding-Jack_ experience had been shocking for both of them. She decided to try to talk about it the following day, when her own mind had dealt more efficiently with all the feelings that had assaulted her since the morning.

A couple of hours later Daniel woke up feeling exhausted. He had taken a pill to go to sleep because he did not feel ready to face Sam and whatever was in her mind −or heart− after the events of the day. The effect of the pill had not lasted long and now he was fully awake. He felt guilty for having broken the promise he had made to himself to make love to Sam every day of their lives together. He wanted her to be sure of the feelings she awoke in him, but today he was not capable because he had the strange sensation that he was betraying Jack by being with Sam. When Jack was dead, there was no guilt. Now that he was there, close to them, he could not bring himself to touch the woman Jack had loved. He felt like a burglar who had taken the most valuable possession of his friend and made her his own. It was the same as robbing a Pharaoh's tomb.

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	19. Chapter 19

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 19**

Realizing he would not be able to go back to sleep, he carefully got up, made sure that Sam was still sleeping and then went to the Infirmary.

He walked directly to the box and started taking out all the remaining substance from it. Once he had everything out, he re-opened the inner container.

Dr. Keller was in charge of the night shift that day. She was helping a young airman who was recovering from an accident while on a mission, when she noticed Daniel working on the box. She walked to him and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I need to take him out of here," Daniel answered without looking at her.

"Why? That substance is the only reason why his body has been preserved this far. He's dead and taking him out of there will accomplish nothing."

Daniel continued working on removing Jack from the inner container. "Get me something to warm up his body. Do you have electric blankets or something like that?"

"Heat will only accelerate the decay-"

"Are you going to help me or not?"

Keller hesitated for a moment. She had never seen Dr. Jackson angry, but at this time he seemed furious. She was not sure what to do; what he was trying to accomplish defied everything she had learned, but… this was _Daniel Jackson_. He probably did not know it, but for anyone who ever spent one hour training or working at the SGC, he was a _legend_, just as much as O'Neill, Carter, and Teal'c. And he was married to her boss.

She decided to follow his instructions and got a couple of nurses to help him put Jack on an Infirmary bed. Then she hooked him to every monitor she could find, so that any change could be immediately perceived. She was certain that nothing good would come out of it, but she was following orders.

As soon as Jack was in the right place, they started warming up his body, gradually increasing its temperature. It was a tedious process, but Daniel sat by the bed and waited.

Around five in the morning an alarm started beeping in one of the monitors. Keller ran to the bed and checked.

"I don't understand this," she said, looking perplexed.

"What? What's going on?" Daniel asked as he checked the monitor himself.

"Do you see it? It's registering a pulse, low but steady. If you look at all the signs, I'd say he's in a coma."

Daniel smiled and sighed with a little laugh. "I knew it!"

Keller looked at him amazed. "We probably should have kept more of that substance, if that's what kept him alive."

"Yes, I'm sure that's what kept him alive. He could have been in a hibernation-like state, but there was no air in that box, only that paste. The inner container must have been a filtering mechanism. It will have to be studied, too." He was talking fast, full of excitement, and Keller realized that she was not dealing with ordinary people.

"You've seen stranger things happen, haven't you?"

"Yep," he answered with a smile. "I have to tell Sam. Be sure to keep an eye on him. I don't know what happens next, but it can't be bad." He smiled again and left the Infirmary.

Keller sat by the bed. This, she had to see with her own eyes.

Sam came in later and checked on the situation. She talked for a while with Keller and then went back to her office. She did not want to get her hopes up; she needed to be cautious and just wait to see if Jack would come out of the coma.

Daniel, on the other hand, could not contain his excitement. He agreed to go to the gym and train for a while with Ronon and Sheppard. He was full of energy and after a good training session, he felt even better.

When he was coming out of the showers, he found John waiting against a wall.

"Do you have a minute?"

"I'm on my way to the Infirmary, but sure. Let's go," he said as he started walking. "How can I help you?"

"I was wondering, would you mind-" he made a gesture of frustration. "I don't know how to explain this. Have you read any of the reports about what's been going on here in Atlantis since we came?"

"All of them," Daniel said.

"All of them?" He paused, "I don't know why I'm surprised. Okay. So you know what happened to me when I was stranded with those people, when they offered me ascension."

"Yes, I know."

"Great. Then… I wasn't ready, you know. It was more than I could handle; I didn't want to leave this life-"

"I had an advantage, I was dying," Daniel said, getting to the point more easily than John expected.

"But it was hard for you, too, right?"

"It was hard, but mostly because I wasn't sure that I was worthy. I had to get to the point when I felt satisfied just by the fact that I had tried enough. My friends helped me see that, that at least I had made the effort… But then, I didn't know many ascended people at that time. I had a different idea of what it was going to be like."

"You still have no memory of all that year?"

"I have _some_ memories, not sure how much. I also have dreams about it, but I don't know what is real and what is just my mind. Replicator Carter brought a lot of things up that I haven't gone completely over yet. It's a bit overwhelming."

"I can imagine."

"But I remember very well the second time, when I saw Oma and Anubis. It was very disappointing again."

"So you don't recommend ascension?"

"It's not that. I think that's not the highest state a soul can reach before dying. It's like ascension as I know it, is a more prolonged, less elevated state than others. There are saints who experienced mystic rapture, like a trance. They called it transport or flight of the spirit. They could also achieve _union_ that was an even higher kind of ecstasy. And in other religions-" He suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at John, who stopped, too. Daniel smiled, "I've been talking a hundred miles an hour and that's not what you wanted to talk about."

"Well, I had a different question, but I find what you were saying very interesting."

"Would you like to talk about it on another occasion?"

"I'd like that," John said with a smile. "I could go by your lab during lunch this week."

"That's fine. Whenever you feel like it." He resumed walking. "What did you want to talk about?"

John followed him. "You know, Rodney couldn't ascend either. If he hadn't figured out how to fix his body, he would have died."

"I know."

"I was wondering, do you think O'Neill was ready to ascend? I felt that he was so much like me-"

"No, I don't think Jack was ready to ascend. I tried to help him when Ba'al was torturing him, but he refused to even consider it possible." They stopped in front of the Infirmary entrance.

"Then, how-"

"Oh, no. I don't think Jack ascended. I believe that he was in stasis. He's done that before. I don't know how it happened this time, but that's all it is. We'll know more when he wakes up."

"You're sure he will."

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Daniel?"

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	20. Chapter 20

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 20**

Jack's voice interrupted them. They both turned and saw Jack, dressed in light blue scrubs, trying to keep his balance against the wall.

"Jack!" Daniel walked to his friend and hugged him vigorously.

Jack hugged him, too. "It's good to see you, too, Danny-boy. I was sure I wasn't going to see anyone else again."

Daniel let go of the hug and looked at him. "You look great."

"I feel pretty well, too." He looked around and asked, "Atlantis? This looks like Atlantis."

"Yes, sir," Sheppard answered from behind Daniel.

"Sheppard!"

"Welcome to Atlantis, sir," he said approaching him and shaking his hand.

Jack shook his hand and then turned to Daniel. "What are _you_ doing here and why am _I_ here?"

"Jack, first you have to get back in bed," Daniel said as he guided him back into the Infirmary. John left them to go in search of Sam.

Jack got in bed and asked again. "So?"

"I work here, Jack."

"You work here? You're not with SG-1 anymore?"

"Not at the moment."

"Weir tried to get you many times; I see that Carter finally got you."

"It was more my idea than hers, but what matters now is how you got here. What do you remember?"

"Not much," Jack said as he reclined against the pillow. "I was flying the ship with the three guys from that planet. Everything was fine and then, suddenly, all kinds of alarms went off. It was a big bird, Daniel, like flying a 787 or so… and we were going to crash straight into the desert. We were all trying to figure out what to do, but there was this little guy, the diplomat, who kept saying that I had to save myself, that the treaty was important and I don't know what other nonsense, so I told him."

"What did you tell him, Jack?"

"_To get the hell out of there_. And that was it; I don't remember anything else. I think I felt a little prick in the back of my neck when I turned around to face the console, but that was it. I would have sworn we were going to die."

"He must have put you in the stasis chamber."

"The_ what_?"

"You know, Jack, you've been through this before. You were in stasis, in that box, over there," Daniel said as he pointed toward the bigger container. "It's made with an alloy of naquadah, probably to resist the impact. It was half buried in the desert when SG-1 found it. The substance inside was most surely what kept you alive."

"But why am _I_ in Atlantis?"

"They brought the box here because of me. I was studying some of the artifacts that were found there. I was working on the inscriptions in the box, when I got it opened."

"So, you didn't know I was there."

"Nope."

Jack seemed touched by the revelation. "If you hadn't been playing with that thing, I would have rotten there."

"We don't know, Jack."

Jack kept silent for a moment. Then he asked, "So, how's Carter doing? I haven't seen her since before the promotion. I need to congratulate her."

"She's doing great. She's had to face many tough situations since she got here, but she's doing very well. Woolsey was here to review her performance for the I.O.A. Committee and she did extremely well."

"With Woolsey?"

"It helped that they went through major trouble while he was here; that usually puts everything in perspective."

Just then Sam came into the room. She looked surprised, but calm.

"Sir," she said, "how are you feeling?"

"Peachy, Carter, just peachy. Daniel here says you're doing pretty well yourself. I just got wind of all the news, so, _congratulations, Carter!_"

Sam was at a loss of words for a few seconds. Then she uttered a "Thank you, sir."

Daniel stood and said, "Dr. Keller will want to run a full check-up on you. She was here all night long. I'll go tell her you're awake." A few seconds later, he left the room.

Sam sat on the chair he had been occupying. "You look fine, sir."

"Thanks, Carter. I'm happy you finally got Daniel; Elizabeth wanted him for the longest time."

"Dr. Weir?"

"Sure, Carter. You didn't know?"

"No, not really, sir," Sam said very surprised.

At that time, one of the nurses approached them and told Sam, "Dr. Keller just called and said she's on her way. You have five more minutes, Colonel Jackson. Then, we'll need General O'Neill for some tests."

"Thank you," Sam said.

Jack sat up straight. "Colonel Jackson?"

"I don't really use it, but some civilians on base seem to like it better, so I don't say anything. I think Daniel likes it."

Jack took a few seconds looking at Sam. "You married Danny-boy?" He finally said.

Sam looked distraught. "Daniel didn't tell you? I thought you said he gave you the news. Why did you congratulate me then?"

"For the I.O.A. report," Jack said as if it were evident.

"I'm sorry, sir. I thought you knew."

Jack was shocked and did not know what to say. He was about to make a joke, but Sam was looking down, avoiding his eyes, so he decided to be serious about it. "Well, that deserves another _congratulations to you_, Carter. It's good that the Space-Monkey decided to take the chance-"

"It was mostly my idea, sir."

Jack was even more surprised, but he kept it hidden. He took one of Sam's hands and prompted her to look at him. "You take good care of him, Carter. He's been through enough in his life; you don't need me to tell you. Just take good care of him."

"Yes, sir, I will."

"He's a good man. He will make you happy or die trying. Are you happy, Sam?"

He was looking so intensely at her, that it took her a few seconds to be able to answer, "Yes, sir, very happy."

"Good."

Dr. Keller entered the room and Sam left. Jack prepared himself for the standard Infirmary drill after a rough mission.

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	21. Chapter 21

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 21**

A.N. I have decided to thank all the faithful readers who wrote to me lately. I know my English is still a little weird and that sometimes I take my time to write, but I appreciate all the support. I will keep updating daily, if possible, for those who are still here. If I can make it on time, tonight I will add chapter 22. We are very close to the end and 22 is still my favorite; well, maybe the last one is better... I will let it for you to decide. Thank you again!

A week had passed since Jack had come back to life and Sam was getting more and more worried. Daniel had found one excuse after another to be far from her most of the time and they had not made love since the day Jack was discovered in the box.

Sam had some theories about what was bothering Daniel, but she could not face him with any, first, because she was not sure, and second, because Daniel was not giving her a chance.

Jack was in perfect health and he had started preparing to go back to Earth. A couple of days earlier he had received a message from Cameron Mitchell about a new form of D.H.D. found on the same planet where he had crashed. This version did not even resemble the one found in Atlantis and had everyone excited about the new technological possibilities it implied. In spite of the fact that Jack did not feel very eager to go back to that place, the possibility of being back on a mission appealed to him.

After making up his mind about going with SG-1, he decided to enlist Sam for the mission. As the foremost expert on wormholes, stargates, and all the technology related to them, she was the ideal candidate to study the artifact, especially considering all the other Ancient objects found there.

Sam thought about it for a while and then asked Daniel for his opinion, while they were having lunch in the cafeteria. Lately, Daniel always seemed exhausted at night, ready to go to sleep, so she did not find it easy to talk to him then. In this public place, he seemed more willing to talk. When she asked him about the mission, he supported her going completely. He understood the reasons and he did not seem bothered by it.

When Jack proposed that Daniel stay in charge of Atlantis until Sam's return, in two weeks, the only complaint came from McKay. Jack summarily dismissed it as he reminded him that there would be no Stargate Program, much less an Atlantis Expedition, if it were not for Daniel's genius.

The morning Sam and Jack were leaving, Daniel sat at his desk unable to concentrate on anything. He had been struggling with the right thing to do since Jack had come back and he had finally arrived at one conclusion. Now, he needed strength to do what he had to do. He looked at his watch again and counted the minutes. He had to do it right before they left, because he would not be able to look at her after that. When finally the right time came, he walked towards the gateroom.

Jack was already on the center platform, talking to Sheppard. Sam was on the stairs that led to the gate, giving some last minute instructions to McKay. Daniel looked at them from one of the small terraces that overlooked the embarkation room and managed to attract Sam's attention with a gesture of his hand. He signaled again and soon Sam joined him in the Conference Room. When she entered the room he was leaning against the table, waiting for her.

First he gave her a few words of encouragement for her new mission and he wished her a good trip. Then he became quiet and Sam realized that his eyes were full of tears. She had seen Daniel cry on various occasions, always in very difficult situations, and she did not think that this short separation merited that kind of feeling. She felt concerned again.

Daniel suddenly walked closer to her and hugged her. He then lowered his hands and held hers. He got even closer and talked to her ear at the same time as he carefully removed Sam's wedding ring from her finger and put it inside her hand.

"You're free, Sam. I have no right to keep you bound to me," he said very softly; then he closed her hand around the ring. "It's been an honor to have been the man you chose to marry, but now it's time to let go. _I know_ what it really feels to hold the woman I love in my arms, to make love to her every night… You deserve to feel the same way about a man and now you have the chance. You cannot waste it because of me. The circumstances have changed since we got married and, though this is very hard for me, I want you to be happy. _I know you_ and I know you'd never betray the trust I have in you, so I have to set you free for you to get what you deserve." He kissed her on the forehead and moved back.

Sam was shocked, dumbfounded, and she could not find a word to say.

Daniel tried one last smile and left the room.

A few seconds later, Sam went down the stairs and joined the party that was about to cross the gate. She was still speechless and she thought that if she tried to say anything, she would burst into tears, so she remained quiet and followed Jack.

Jack looked at her, trying to guess her feelings. He had seen from the corner of his eye the scene behind the glass doors of the Conference Room. He was certain that it had been a lovers' farewell moment and he thought that Sam was still feeling distressed about it, so he kept quiet, too. Soon they were all gone.

Daniel reached his quarters and walked straight to the shower. He turned on the cold water and got under it still fully clothed. He felt as if he had a high fever. He was certain that his chest was going to blow up in a thousand pieces. He had a very physical pain and it was too hard to breathe.

He remained under the water for a long time, immobile, struggling to stop crying. He had never thought he could love someone else that much ever again. It hurt so badly to let her go, but it would be worse to see her languish, trying not to wish for what she really wanted. He had done the right thing; now he had to live with the consequences. He had two weeks to get ready to face her again and be glad at her happiness.

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	22. Chapter 22

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 22**

A.N.: Please, I really need to hear about this chapter. It's pivotal in deciding if the ending is right.

Sam crossed the surface of the gate and stared at the Atlantis Gateroom. Colonel Sheppard was there waiting for them with McKay, Ronon, and Zelenka. Jack came through right behind her.

"I'm glad to see you both back," John said.

"I'm only back for a day," Jack replied. "Change of command and I'm done."

"Yes, sir."

"Where's Daniel?" Sam asked.

"He's in the Infirmary." Sheppard immediately realized his mistake when he saw Sam pale considerably. "He's okay; he's just giving blood for the wounded from the last mission."

Sam nodded and walked toward the stairs.

"I heard your mission was a success. I'm dying to get my hands on that report. That new technology could help us here when we have problems with our dialing system." McKay sounded excited

"Well, you'll have to talk to Carter about that," Jack said when he realized Sam was not paying attention. "Now, we're both awfully tired, so I think we should go get some rest. John, why don't you call Danny-boy and tell him his wife is going to their quarters? He can welcome her there." He smiled at Sheppard and looked at Sam.

She looked distracted, but she nodded and started walking towards her room.

As soon as she was out of sight, he turned to Sheppard, who was about to call the Infirmary. "Forget it, John. I think I need some sleeping pills. I'll go by the Sick Bay to get them and I'll tell Daniel about Sam."

Sheppard agreed and Jack left the room. When he reached the Infirmary, Daniel was being discharged.

"Now, keep this against the skin for a short while, until it stops bleeding," a nurse was telling him.

"Okay," Daniel replied.

"Daniel!" Jack got his attention.

"Jack! You're back. Aren't you a little early?"

"Just twenty minutes or so." He walked towards Daniel and they hugged.

"I'm glad everything went well."

"Yes. Listen, Danny, why don't we walk this way for a minute?" Jack said guiding him out of the room.

"Where's Sam? Is she okay?"

"She's fine, Daniel. I just need to talk with you for a minute."

Daniel suddenly felt very cold inside. Was Jack going to tell him that he had talked with Sam about their mutual feelings? Had they already started something?

They walked down a hallway for a while and when he was sure nobody else was listening, Jack stopped and said, "Daniel. I don't know what happened between Sam and you before we left, but she's not been herself at all this time. I'd say she's furious with you, but I'm not sure, because she's not talking."

Daniel was surprised. That was not what he thought he would hear.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it either; that's something very personal, but I thought I should warn you. She's in your quarters, probably waiting for you to show up."

Daniel nodded and walked away. Jack sighed. He could not understand what had happened between them. He would have never expected them to have any kind of relationship besides friendship, but the first days after his awakening, he had been certain that Sam was really happy with it. Now he was not so sure.

Daniel was at a loss. He had no idea why Sam could be mad at him. He had done the right thing, he repeated to himself. Once in front of their door, he took a few seconds to get ready for whatever she wanted to say, then he walked in.

Sam was unpacking.

"Sam," he called softly. "Are you okay?"

She turned and looked at him.

Daniel thought there was fury in her eyes. He got closer and tried again, "What is it?"

Sam threw the clothes she had in her hand against the bed. "What is it? What do you think it is?" she said in a low voice, full of anger.

"Sam. If it's about what I said before you left, I really meant it-"

"Of course you meant it," she said, full of sarcasm. She walked away from him and rested her back against the wall. "Of course you meant it, but you know what? The fact that you had Sha're doesn't give you the right to dump me the first chance you get. I'm sorry that I didn't measure up to her, but it's not fair-"

"Sam!" Daniel interrupted her.

She stopped talking and waited for him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Daniel said with genuine surprise.

She seemed to get even angrier. "_What do you think I'm talking about?_ I'm talking about how _you_ felt when you had _her_, when you made love to the woman you _really _loved-"

"Sam!" Daniel interrupted again.

"What? Don't you remember what you told me?"

"Sam!" he tried one more time, but she closed her eyes and twisted her face sideways, to show that she was not listening anymore. He decided to get her attention. He walked very close to her, grabbed her hands and pinned them against the wall at both sides of her head.

Sam opened her eyes. She was thinking about freeing herself when Daniel put all his weight against her and pinned all of her to the wall. "Sam! Listen! Listen to me!" he said, anger in his own voice.

She hesitated for a moment. She had never made Daniel mad. Jack and Vala had many times, but not her.

Daniel got closer, if possible, and put his lips almost in contact with her right ear. "Sam," he said softly, in a low voice. "I wasn't talking about Sha're."

Sam was not really listening. She tried to move, but he was bigger and stronger than her.

"Listen, Sam," he said more calmly. "Stop struggling for once and just listen."

Sam calmed down and waited. He was not going to hurt her, she knew that; he just wanted her to listen and she could do that.

He started one more time. "I don't understand why you cannot accept that I love_ you_, Sam, because God knows that I've told you enough times, but _this _is what I was talking about." He took a very deep breath against her hair and continued with a sultry voice. "I was talking about _you_, Sam. Every time I get _this close_ to you, Sam, I feel _dizzy_." He stressed the most meaningful words and talked slowly, savoring each syllable. "The simple_ idea_ of smelling the scent of your hair or sampling the taste of your skin with my tongue makes _pleasure_ run along _my whole body_." He briefly bit her earlobe and gave a few small kisses to her neck; then he breathed deeply again. "_To know_ that I can rake my fingertips over your naked body is enough to make me feel _a rush_… and there's _no limit_ to the _delight_ when I _actually touch you_." He let her left hand go and slid his right palm along the side of her body over her clothes.

Sam kept her hand up because she thought she would never be able to move again. She felt she had fallen into some kind of trance. She closed her eyes and felt Daniel's hand sliding on her hip. She breathed as deeply as he had.

Daniel moved his head slightly backwards to be able to look at her. "When I _look_ at you, every day…" He freed her other hand and untied the ponytail in her hair. He had both his hands on her hips now. "When I fall asleep or I wake up _holding you_, I feel nothing short of _elation_, Sam." He got close to her ear again and added, "To feel the stroke of _your hands_ or the soft touch of _your lips_… _on me_… is more than I can handle sometimes… and I feel that my heart could stop because of_ so much bliss_ when you _kiss_ me." He paused and softly touched her closed mouth with his lips. "And that _cannot even compare_ with what I feel when I'm _inside of you_…" he whispered. He took a couple more of deep breaths, as if trying to get the rhythm back to normal. Then he pressed his whole body softly against hers and breathed again. "You are _exciting_, _stimulating_, for my _mind_, my _soul_, and my _body_, Sam." He pressed against her one more time and then let go a little. "You show me the true meaning of _ecstasy_ and _exhilaration_…" he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.

A few seconds later, he sighed and stepped backwards.

Sam opened her eyes. She was breathing fast and she could not talk.

"Many people go through life without having the chance to ever feel _that,_ Sam. You cannot be one of them. No matter how much it hurts me, you cannot miss on _that_. That's all that I meant. If Jack is your chance, you have to take it. There are not many men like him." He sighed again, took his glasses off, and rubbed his eyes with his hand. "I think I'm going to spend some time in the gym. I'll be back later to pick up some of my things."

Before Sam could react, he was gone. She slid down the wall and sat on the floor.

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	23. Chapter 23

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 23**

Daniel walked to the gym in a daze. He could have been turned on by what he had just done, but he was too furious. He could not comprehend what made Sam so blind when it came to him. 

Jack was sitting in an empty office, reluctantly filling paperwork, when he saw Daniel rush through the hallway. After Sam's unusual behavior, this got him curious. He swiftly followed Daniel to the gym. When he entered, Daniel was already prepared to start some training.

"Daniel!"

"Jack."

"Need a partner?"

"If you're offering," Daniel replied without much emotion.

"Sure. Let me get something more comfortable." He walked to the lockers and got a sweatshirt and some sweatpants out of Daniel's. He came back a few minutes later.

Daniel was hitting a punching bag with his bare hands.

"Ow, ow, ow," Jack yelled as he rushed to him.

He held the punching bag still and Daniel stopped.

"What's going on, Daniel?"

"Nothing. Everything's peachy, as you say," Daniel said and walked away.

Jack followed him to a mat and they started some fighting exercises.

"Daniel, you seem to be channeling some serious anger," Jack panted, out of breath after a few minutes.

Daniel made a gesture of contempt and turned his back to him.

Jack followed and put his hand on his shoulder, "Is it Sam?'

Daniel turned to face him and asked abruptly, "What do you feel for her, Jack?'

"Oy, Daniel… You know I'm not good with all the feeling-thing."

"I'm serious, Jack. If she were free, today, what would you do? Would you be interested in _dating_ her? Maybe _marrying_ her? What?"

"Daniel, she's not free," Jack said, trying to avoid answering.

"Please, Jack this is important."

"I don't know, Daniel."

"Stop avoiding the question. Be honest with me and with yourself."

Jack sighed with frustration. He did not want to talk or _think _about that. "Listen, Daniel. It's complicated. I like Carter, I do. Maybe at some point I thought about it; perhaps going out on our own a couple of times, see what happened, if there was something there worth chasing…" He paused. "I had to wait because of our jobs and the positions we had in the Air Force and, suddenly, ten years were gone. Now, I don't know. I'm older and I'm used to the life I have. I did the husband-wife-family thing and it didn't turn out so well. I'm not sure I want to try that again."

"Not even for Sam?"

"It's not a matter of Sam or not Sam. It's a matter of _me_; what _I_ want. To have a fling with a nice lady, maybe, now and then, but I don't think I can handle a stable relationship. Sam is worthy of much more than that. I have too many issues. Not even Sara could get over them."

"So, even if she was willing, you would not go for it?"

"Daniel, she's _not_ willing."

"You don't know that, Jack."

"I know that I spent two weeks with her in a desert, most of the time just the two of us, and I didn't even get a glimpse of interest. Not that I was looking for it, but it was _not_ there."

"Maybe she was too busy working out her anger towards me."

"I don't know what she was working out, but I was definitely _not_ in her sight. I may as well have been invisible."

Daniel rubbed his eyes. He was very tired. "Okay."

"Okay? Come on, Daniel. What's going on?"

"Nothing. It's okay. I'll just get a shower."

Jack stopped him. "Listen, Danny. I don't want to know what's going on between you two, but I do know that before we left on this mission, she was happy. She told me she was _very_ happy. Try and figure out what happened that changed that. I don't think it was me."

Daniel sighed. "The truth, Jack, is that I was sure that the only reason Sam married me was because she thought you were dead and she didn't want to be alone anymore."

"That's harsh, Daniel," Jack said with concern.

"I know. It's that, all this time, she's never once said _I love you_, beyond what you say more by custom than because of a feeling."

"What?"

"You know, before hanging up the phone, for example, many people say, _"Love you,"_ but it doesn't really mean anything."

"Sam loves you, Daniel."

"I know, but it's not the same love I feel for her. Maybe that's why she doesn't believe that I love her."

"She doesn't?"

Daniel sighed. "You've been my closest friend for more than ten years, Jack. There were times when I couldn't have gone on without your support. Teal'c and Sam have been there, too. But when I realized that I loved her in this other, completely different way, it scared me. I thought I didn't have a chance. When she asked me to marry her, I didn't find the strength to say no. Now, I don't know if that was best for her."

"Look, Daniel, I didn't see it coming, to tell you the truth, but now I know you're the right man for her. Go back to your room and figure this out with her."

Daniel nodded tiredly. "Thanks, Jack," he said and walked towards the showers.

Several hours later, he knocked on the door of the quarters he shared with Sam. When he got no response, he opened the door.

Sam was sitting on the floor, against the wall, on the same spot where he had last seen her standing. It looked like she had been crying. His heart shrunk at the sight.

"Hey," he said softly.

Sam did not answer.

He kneeled in front of her. "Are you all right? What did I do this time?"

Sam sniffled and got up. "I've been thinking," she said.

"Okay…" Daniel stood and faced her.

She sat on the edge of the bed. "Have you thought that this has always been a triangle?" Sam blurted out.

Daniel looked intrigued.

"Jack, you, and me."

"Go on."

"Ever since that time when I attacked him and he attacked you."

"You were both sick."

"Yeah, but he instinctively felt that you were a threat to him, even though I was looking for him."

"I ended up in the forest with Melosha, later."

"It doesn't matter, he knew."

"Sam…"

"Maybe it started before that, with the captain-doctor argument…"

"It wasn't really an argument, Sam," he tried.

"Fine; it doesn't matter. What matters, Daniel, is that _I have felt that way_; I have felt that exhilaration, that ecstasy…"

"That's good," Daniel said, but his face betrayed the pain he was feeling.

"Let's go to bed. I'm tired."

Daniel took a second to process the non-sequitur. "What?"

"We're both tired. We need to talk tonight, but it somehow seems easier if we're not standing here, facing each other. We used to talk a lot in bed, Daniel. We're still married, aren't we?"

She sounded sweet and conciliatory. Maybe she was right; maybe it was better to listen to what she had to say without looking at her. They had had long conversations while lying by each other before, even before their marriage, when they were just friends sleeping in a tent on a remote planet. "Okay," he finally said.

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	24. Chapter 24

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 24**

A.N. One more to go after this!

Sam started taking off her uniform and laying the garments on a chair. 

Daniel, still unsure, said, "I'm going to the shower and I'll get dressed-"

"Daniel, your hair is still wet; you just had a shower, and you have to get _undressed_ to get in bed."

Well, he was not good at stalling, he thought. "I'll get my pajamas then."

Sam sighed. "If you don't want to do this, fine, let's go to sleep."

"No. no, I want to talk about it. I'm fine."

She was already in her underwear; she walked to him and started helping him with his clothes. He had his jacket out. She pulled his sweater off and grabbed his belt.

"Sam, I can do this."

"Fine." She sat at the edge of the bed and looked at him.

He felt strangely uncomfortable. He took his shirt off and hesitated before removing the undershirt. Then he pulled it off and walked towards the bed.

Sam stood up and said, "You're not done," as she moved her hands toward his hips.

"Sam," he said, putting his hands on top of hers.

"I know how you like to go to bed. You're not scared of me, are you? If this is our last night together…"

Her last sentence hit him hard. He felt the anger come back. He shoved his underwear down, sighed with frustration, and got in bed.

Sam turned off the lights and got in bed by his side. He soon realized she had completely undressed, too.

"You know, Daniel, before Jack came back I was happy. Not that I'm not happy that he came back; it just changed the perspective on many things," she said as soon as she laid her head on his chest. Then she put her hand on his abdomen.

Daniel had to use all his will power not to react to the close contact. "What changed?'

"Mostly you. You had all these preconceived notions about my feelings and you started acting upon them."

"Was I wrong?"

"Not completely," she conceded. "I've had very strong feelings for Jack for a long time. You know that; we've talked about it. It's just that time changes people a lot and feelings transform, too."

"I know."

"When did you realize that you were in love with me?"

Daniel was surprised by the sudden change of topic, but he found some kind of connection to what she had just said. "After I descended, the first time."

"That's a long time ago."

"Yes."

"You never said a word. Why?"

"You didn't feel the same way."

"Maybe if you had said something-"

"No. It doesn't work that way."

"Okay." She drew a circle on his abdomen with her hand and he could not stop a shiver. Sam seemed not to notice. "You know your skin is very soft, Daniel?"

"What?"

"Your skin… It's very soft, especially here," she slowly slid her hand upwards on his chest.

He took a deep breath. "Okay." He had to wait a few seconds. "Can we go back to our talk? What do you want to do, Sam? You haven't talked to Jack, have you?" He started worrying that she would confess her feelings to Jack and he would reject her.

"I told you that I had felt _that way_, didn't I?" she began as if he had not asked a question. "You know, for people with so high I.Q., sometimes we're pretty stupid, you and I."

"I know," he confessed.

"Your demonstration today was quite… _effective_, let's say." She slid her hand down again, lower than before, and Daniel almost missed a breath. "It made me recognize the symptoms, to put it some way." She crawled closer to him and lifted one leg on top of one of his.

The same scene had happened many times before since they had gotten married, but for Daniel it simply felt inappropriate in some way.

"There's this guy," Sam continued. "He made me feel _all that_, you know, but I had never been with anyone like him before, so I thought that he was just great in bed. He had it all pinned down to the detail; the moves, the technique, the sounds…" She took a deep breath and let out a little laugh. "Good memories…"

Daniel was struggling between the arousing effect of her body against his and the painful effect of her words. He made an effort to participate. "Why did you leave him?"

"I didn't. He left me."

"Why?"

"He always does what he thinks it's right."

"And it was right to leave you?"

"According to him."

Daniel sighed with exasperation. "Do you miss him?"

"I've been missing him a lot lately."

Daniel felt real pain. "So, what do you want to do about it?"

"I want him to take me back, but he's blind, as blind as I was before today. He just can't see how I feel for him, but that's fair, because I didn't really know until now, after your … _demonstration_."

Daniel's head was twirling with ideas. Was it McKay? It couldn't be Sheppard. And by then he was certain that she was not talking about Jack at all. And if she was trying to make him feel better on their last night together, he did not want it. He tried to sit up, but Sam stopped him.

"Where are you going?"

"I just need to-"

"What?" she asked and she softly slid all of her body on top of his.

"Sam," he groaned.

"What? You showed me today that I was blind. Can't I do the same?"

"What do you mean?" he managed to get out.

"I know I'm dense sometimes, Daniel," she slid downwards a little and he shivered and grabbed the sheets with both hands; "but you are as bad, especially when it concerns women. Do you know how many women _are_ or _have been_ crazy about you without you even noticing? And _what the heck_ do you think I'm trying to tell you from up here? I know I'm not good with words like you are, so I'm going to show you."

She put pressure against his body and he finally grabbed her, mostly to stop her from moving. "Sam, Sam, stop."

"No." She lowered her head and slid her tongue down his chest toward one of his nipples. Then she bit him softly.

Daniel's body stiffened and lifted slightly over the sheets. "Oh, God," he muttered. She slid lower and twisted her tongue in his navel. He quivered and tried to ask something else, but the words did not come out.

"I'm more for the empirical demonstration than for the logical argument," she whispered and slid slightly lower.

"Goodness, Sam, what do you want from me?"

"You. I want you. _I love you_, Daniel," she said as slid back up to face him. "I love you and I just want you to hear it loud and clear." She kissed him briefly and added, "I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to realize the depth of my feelings for you, but this kind of intensity is new to me. I suddenly became aware of how much I needed you during those two weeks. I was so mad, but I couldn't stop thinking about you. I don't want you to ever leave me. I want to raise a family with you." She lowered her chest against his and rested her head by his.

Daniel felt suddenly euphoric. "Sam… I'm so glad," he took a deep breath; "_I love you_ _very much_ and I'm so happy that you understand it now." He tried to turn both of them around.

"No, don't move. This is _my _demonstration. I want to know if I've learned from the master." She pressed both hands on his chest and raised her head to kiss him deeply.

When she pulled apart, Daniel whispered, "As any good student, you've outdone the teacher."

"Just wait to see what I have planned next…"

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


	25. Chapter 25

**All That I Need **by Betty Bokor  
Sam/Daniel. Sam is in charge of Atlantis and Daniel goes to work with her for a while.  
Spoilers: All seasons.  
Disclaimer: The Stargate original characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corp. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**All That I Need**

**Chapter 25**

Jack O'Neill got ready to cross the gate back to Earth. He had finished his mission in Atlantis and he had to go back home. It did not mean that he would not come back; he probably would, but this time it was harder than others. The moment he stepped into the gate, one huge chapter of his life would be closed. He was pretty certain that it already was, but the departure would make it more final.

He talked to Sheppard one more time. The young man was always eager to converse with him.

He wished well to Teyla and her baby and he promised to send Ronon some exotic weapons he had collected from around the world. He did not feel like holding on to stuff lately.

He turned and looked at Daniel and Sam. Daniel had his hand on Sam's shoulder in a very protective way. They were both smiling, in spite of the loud argument between McKay and Zelenka right in front of them. That was probably the best proof that his chances with Sam were gone forever. However, he had nobody but himself to blame. There had been plenty of opportunities and he had chosen to ignore them. Sam would always be the big _what if_ of his life, though he mostly refused to think about it. Now he was sure he would not go there again.

He had a bittersweet feeling left; sort of a longing mixed with happiness. Happiness for both of them, because he loved them too much to resent them in any way, especially Daniel. He could not explain what had bound him to the young man so long ago. He had never had such a close relationship with another man, not even with his comrades in war. He liked to think that he would have felt the same way about Charlie.

In the last years it worried him that he had neglected that bond on too many occasions. The older he got, the more concerned he was about things like that. _Regrets start to pile up when the action on the battlefront decreases_, one of the generals in his staff usually said.

Today he knew that he had openly lied to Daniel, but it had not been the first time. "It was for his own good," he consoled himself. It became clearly justifiable when considering that because of his lie, Sam and Daniel had told each other the truth about their own feelings.

He watched them again as they walked toward the center of the platform. Sam raised her head to look at Daniel and Jack saw the love in her eyes. He remembered that look, staring at him from his own Sara. If only he had known how to keep her… Daniel would not make that kind of mistake; now that their feelings were clear, he was going to fight for her for as long as he lived.

"No time for one more talk, Jack?" Daniel asked as they approached him.

"I really have to be back in Washington early in the morning. Looks like they found where they stashed all my stuff while I was _dead_." He made one of his characteristic gestures and Sam smiled.

"Take care of her, Space Monkey; she's worth her weight in naquadah," he said as he got closer to Sam. Daniel nodded with a smile and Jack hugged her. When Teyla caught Daniel's attention with a question, Jack whispered to Sam, "You take care of my boy, Carter; you promised me in the Infirmary."

"Yes, sir."

He stepped back slightly and looked at her. "You look radiant, Sam, you know?"

"I told you, sir, I'm very happy."

"I know." He patted her shoulder and turned to hug Daniel, who had just finished talking to Teyla.

"Bye, Jack."

"I'm going to miss you, guys," Jack said and Daniel immediately recognized the words _he_ had said so long ago.

"Yeah; you too," he answered and Jack smiled.

"Thank you, for everything," Jack kept the roles reversed.

"So, what? See you around?" Daniel continued their old dialogue.

"I don't know," Jack said and they hugged again.

Sam wondered what they meant, but she did not dare ask. Daniel and Jack had been through too many things together, moments that nobody else had shared and that probably not many would understand.

Jack crossed the event horizon a few seconds later and the group dissolved. Sam and Daniel walked towards their quarters; it was one of their _Sundays_ and they were bent on enjoying it together.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked Daniel, who was strangely quiet.

He took a moment and then said, "Yeah, I'll be all right."

Her curiosity got the best of her and she asked, "What was all that about?"

Daniel sighed. "Just remembering old farewells."

"Is _he _going to be okay?"

Daniel thought for a second. "Yeah… He lied to me," he said, almost talking to himself, "but he'll be fine."

This time she could not ask. She did not want to know.

They finally made it to their bedroom. Sam grabbed Daniel's hand and guided him to the bed.

"Trying to suggest something?" Daniel asked with a smile.

"I've been counting −I'm good at that− and you owe me sixteen nights of making love to me. You said you liked to do it _every day_ and those sixteen are missing, plus the fourteen I spent on the mission, that's thirty, or better said, a month, but considering that most months have thirty-one days, we could add one for that, and a couple more for good measure. I'd say you owe me between thirty-five and forty times of making love. If we simply round it off, we get _fifty_. Using the mornings and maybe some lunch time, we'll soon catch-up."

"I'm not sure about that math," Daniel said with a big smile, "but I'm always up for a good challenge."

"That's the spirit!" Sam replied as she pulled him onto the bed.

"Anything else you need?" Daniel asked as he started getting rid of their clothes.

"No, sir. I have all that I need."

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Any comments? Please, take a minute and give your opinion. It is very important for me to know what the readers think in order to decide how to continue a story or write the next one, or, if there is no interest, stop posting it here.


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